


Fate Is Cruel

by beyondthesea



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, mentions of abuse, slowburn, there is one instance of dub con and it's not between Azula and Ty Lee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-02-23 22:14:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 125,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2557634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyondthesea/pseuds/beyondthesea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Azula battles with demons in her head, her brother battles with wits in the arena of politics, but when the Earth King makes a demand of Zuko and will not take no for an answer, he is forced to send his unstable younger sister on a run for her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate Is Insistent

**Author's Note:**

> This story is complete on ff.net
> 
> Also, please note that I am posting this here unedited from the form in which it was originally published two years ago (aka, it's probably not representative of my current writing style).
> 
> I'm at deadslashalive.tumblr.com in case anyone is interested.

It had not taken Zuko long at all to decide that he did not like the Earth King. Even after the two had narrowly avoided war, Kuei was difficult. From the start, he was eager to prove his competence after years of having the wool pulled over his eyes by his own agents, but he has never ruled before and it shows. He expects everyone else to have the interests of the Earth Kingdom at heart. He expects to be told when he is making a bad deal. He does not understand the concept of compromise. His years of being pampered in Ba Sing Se while his country lost a war are reflected in the way he handles conflict. He is ten years older than Zuko, but dealing with him feels like babysitting.

"Fire Lord Zuko." He inclines his head slightly as Zuko enters the room.

The conference hall at the State House in Republic City is larger than Zuko thinks it needs to be. The council will only consist of five members, and once the councilmen are determined, they will not need a meeting room the size of the throne room back in Capital City. He supposes the architect was drawing inspiration by the grandiosity of the old regimes in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, but it hardly seems necessary, in his opinion. The councilmen will not be kings. That is the entire point.

"Earth King Kuei," Zuko replies. He manages to keep his voice level, but he is already becoming annoyed. It is going to be a very long day. "What's so important that you called me here on such short notice?" He had been on the third day of his first vacation since assuming the throne, on Ember Island with Mai.

The Earth King straightens his glasses and meets Zuko halfway across the hall. "I have a bit of a request."

Zuko raises his eyebrows. "A request?"

"Well," Kuei bows his head in thought, and Zuko catches himself thinking what he so often thinks when he deals with the man. _He is just an academic. He was never meant to be King._ He hates himself for it, because, depending on who you ask, Zuko was not meant to rule his nation either. "It's more of a demand, really."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Kuei replies. "As you know, the anniversary of the end of the war is coming up. Can you believe it's been three years already?"

"Yes," Zuko replies shortly. These three years rival the years he spent at sea as the longest of his life.

"Well, I was thinking the other day," he continues, his voice cordial. Even when he makes demands he sounds like he is asking for permission. "And we've really made so many concessions to you, especially considering we were the victors, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to ask for something in return." Zuko suppresses the urge to roll his eyes and wishes he was dealing with one of the Water Tribes instead. "We'd like to ask that certain war criminals be extradited to the Earth Kingdom to stand trial for war crimes against our people."

Now, Zuko is just confused. "All of our former generals are already serving time for their actions during the war in Fire Nation prisons," he replies. "Surely you don't want to retry them—"

Kuei holds up a finger to stop him. "Not all of your criminals," he replies. "I am talking about three specific people. Princess Azula and her two lieutenants. I don't believe they have been subject to any form of punishment in your nation, have they? Do correct me if I'm wrong."

Zuko can feel his hands balling into fists. _Restraint_ , he tells himself. _Restraint_. The Earth King cannot possibly expect him to agree to this. "My _sister_ is living under guard in an asylum," he answers, his teeth clenched. "And her lieutenants have reformed. They were instrumental in her downfall. One of them joined _your_ Kyoshi Warriors after the war, and the other…"

"Is your girlfriend," Kuei finishes. "I must say I have always marveled at your ability to forgive. Didn't she spend months hunting you down?"

He crosses his arms. "You can't honestly expect me to agree to this. Mai and Ty Lee have done time in the Fire Nation's highest security prison, and they've proven their character time and time again since their release."

Kuei sighs dramatically and turns to the window. "I might be persuaded to leave your friends alone."

Zuko's mouth drops open in disbelief. "You want me to buy their freedom?"

Kuei shrugs. "I came here for three prisoners. Three prisoners who staged a coup in my nation's capital city and have not been punished. You don't expect me to give in without some form of concession."

"Fine," Zuko sighs. "What do you want?"

Kuei taps his index finger on his chin for several moments before speaking again, but Zuko suspects it is all for show, because the Earth King's advisors, if they are any good, will have run him through every possible way this meeting could have gone. "The designs to your airships. The ones your father planned to use to burn my nation. I'll take that for the Princess' lieutenants. I'm afraid I won't deal for her."

"My sister is seventeen years old," Zuko argues. "She's sick. She was sick during the war. What do you plan to do? Execute her?"

"She seemed perfectly healthy when she turned my own Dai Li agents against me and captured the world's most heavily fortified city within a day." His voice is infuriatingly casual, like he is discussing the recent weather in Ba Sing Se.

"The way I heard it," Zuko growls. " _Your_ Dai Li agents were never with you in the first place."

Kuei ignores him. "My people are angry. They feel we have already made too many concessions by turning over parts of our land for this… United Republic, and we've received nothing in return. We are the victors, and yet we are coming out of this war with less than we had when we started. What do you think it looks like to the Earth Kingdom when the three people most instrumental in our downfall continue to live comfortably in the Fire Nation?"

"Is that what this is about?" Zuko is yelling now, beyond his own ability for self-restraint.  
"Looking strong for your people? Guess what, Kuei? My people don't like me very much either. A lot of them would prefer my father or my sister over me. But you can't just make demands and expect that to bring you honor. You have to earn it for yourself by ruling your people the best you know how, and hoping it's good enough." Kuei has been a pampered Prince is entire life. Of course he would know nothing of humility.

"You have my assurances that she will be treated with the respect we would afford to anyone who had committed a crime in the Earth Kingdom," he continues, his voice still annoyingly level. "She will not be touched unless she is tried and found guilty."

"You've got to be kidding." Zuko rolls his eyes. "She will never have a fair trial in the Earth Kingdom. She'll be found guilty the moment she steps into the room. Anything after that will just be funeral decoration."

The Earth King turns away from the window and back toward Zuko. "The Princess. I will not take no for an answer."

"Well, you're going to have to," Zuko answers, already halfway to the door. "Because I'm not sending my sister to you to die." He pauses, his hand on the doorknob. "I'll send the plans for our airships with a messenger. Consider it collateral for all three girls."

"This isn't over," Kuei calls to him. "Your Princess willanswer for the crimes she has committed against my people. No one can escape justice for the kind of damage she caused in Ba Sing Se and Omashu. No one gets away with subjecting an entire nation to that kind of terror. Not even the Fire Lord's sister."

* * *

Zuko does not sleep that night. Instead, he paces. Mai pleads with him to come to bed several times before giving up and perching herself at the foot of the bed and watching him retrace his steps across the floor of their suite.

"Zuko, what's wrong?"

"The Earth King," Zuko mutters. This is at least the fifth time she has asked, and he is not sure what makes this time any different. Maybe because he is tired. Maybe because he knows she will offer sound advice if he can only swallow his pride and ask for it. "He just… he makes me so…" His hand curl into fists, and he presses them to his forehead and groans.

"Did he do something specific or was he just being himself?" she asks. Normally, the question would have made Zuko laugh, but he merely sighs and shakes his head.

Small, warm hands cover his own, and his fists are being dragged away from his face. When he opens his eyes, Mai is off the bed, standing directly in front of him, her mouth turned into a deep frown. "You can tell me," she whispers. "You _should_ tell me. What did he do?"

"He… asked for something," Zuko answers through clenched teeth, like it is paining him. "Something I can't give him. And I was angry at him at first for even asking, but now I'm thinking… maybe he had a right to."

"Well, can't you just give it to him then?" Mai asks. "Maybe you should if you feel that guilty about it. You're the Fire Lord. You have to admit, there isn't much beyond your reach."

"I can't," he answers shortly.

"Zuko," she sighs patiently. "I can't help you unless you give me specifics. What does he want?"

Zuko groans and tries to cover his face with his hands again, but Mai still has them firmly in her grasp. "He wants…" He takes a deep breath. "He wants me to turn Azula over to stand trial for war crimes."

Mai frowns. "You're right. You can't give her to him. Why would you even want to? I thought you were trying to make up with Azula."

"I am," Zuko explains. "I don't want to give her to him. I would never even consider it. But you have to admit, he has a point. All my father's generals and advisors are in prison. She lead the capture of Ba Sing Se. The only thing stopping her from being punished is the fact that she's my sister."

"And that she was only fourteen when she did those things," Mai adds. "And that she was completely unstable. Honestly, Zuko, Kuei is being unreasonable. Prison would make her worse, not better."

"She's not getting much better anyway," Zuko grumbles. He looks up at his girlfriend, meets her eye. "Do you remember when we were kids and she used to throw rocks at the turtleducks in the garden?" Mai nods, her brow creasing in confusion. "Do you think she was losing her mind even then?"

Mai sighs. "I think it's been a losing battle ever since your father found out she was a firebending prodigy," she answers. "And I think it got worse when your mother left, and I think it got even worse than that after you were banished."

Zuko raises her brow. "You think my being gone made it worse?"

"I know it did," Mai replies, bitterness just detectable in her voice. "She was alone with him."

"What are you saying, Mai?"

"Just that she went through a lot in those three years," she shrugs, but something in her tone tells him that what she is saying is significant. "Just like you did. You're not the only one whose life changed because of your banishment. You both came out of it different people. Now," she looks at him, her demeanor businesslike all of a sudden, "Can't you negotiate a way out of this? We must have something he wants. His kingdom is so… backwards outside of Ba Sing Se."

"I did," Zuko replies. "He originally asked for you and Ty Lee as well."

She crosses her arms. "He has a lot of nerve."

"He's trying to look strong for his people," Zuko replies.

"You have some experience with that."

"I never would have done it like this," Zuko argues. "I never would have taken it out on a child."

"Azula is older than you were when you became the Fire Lord, Zuko," Mai points out. "And need I remind you that you nearly went to war two years ago?"

"He started it!" It is only once the words are out of his mouth that he realizes how childish they sound.

Mai smiles and shakes her head. "Don't worry," she murmurs. "He won't get her. We'll figure something out. Let's just go to sleep. We can talk about it more in the morning."

And so he allows himself to be dragged to the bed. He lies still as the blanket is pulled over him, and once the light is out, he waits to feel the mattress dip as Mai climbs in beside him. They are not supposed to share a bed, his uncle reminds him sometimes. They are not married. Word will get out. There are already rumors. It is alright for peasants to take lovers, even sometimes for married peasants to take lovers, but he is the Fire Lord, and his people hold him to a higher standard. Zuko does not much care. If there is going to be a scandal—and there will be, or people will run out of things to talk about—he would rather it be about something that is making him happier than he has ever been. He has heard enough talk about his own betrayal, his father's imprisonment, his sister's insanity, his mother's reappearance. To overhear conversations about himself and Mai as he is carried through the city in his palanquin would be a welcome change.

"We'll figure it out," Mai assures him, her voice already faint with sleep. He reaches out and pulls her to his side, burying his face in her hair.

"You're pretty smart, you know?" he whispers, almost grimacing, because it sounds so much like something Sokka would say. Perhaps, between setting up the government in Republic City and dealings between the Fire Nation and Southern Water Tribe, they have been spending too much time together.

"You're not stupid either," she replies, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

* * *

The rest of their stay in Republic City is uneventful. He complains about having to cut their vacation short and wonders if he can manage to clear another week so they can continue their stay on Ember Island when they arrive back in the Fire Nation. Mai smiles serenely and rolls her eyes.

"You know very well you'll do no such thing," she informs him. "You'll bury yourself in your office with a list of all our assets and try to figure out what else you can offer Kuei. I won't see you for a week."

The Avatar arrives in the city the next day with delegations from the three nations.

"I know you were supposed to be on vacation," Aang explains, placing a sympathetic hand on Zuko's shoulder. He is fifteen now, and almost as tall as Zuko and Sokka. If feels strange, every time he sees Aang and Mai stand next to each other, that Aang towers over her. "But I figured since you were here, we could take advantage of it. That way, you won't have to travel again for a while."

"Zuko, buddy," he hears to his left. Sokka is striding over. It has been months since Zuko has seen him, but Sokka still looks exactly like he did at the end of the war. His wolf tail is a little longer and much better kept, but he still keeps a boomerang strapped to his back, and sometimes a sword. "You need a haircut," he comments. "You're starting to look like your sister."

Zuko has not cut his hair in years, and it has grown past his shoulders. The first year that he held the throne, he had been diligent about keeping it short. He hadn't wanted to look any more like his father than he already did in in the Fire Lord's traditional robes and with the Fire Crown atop his head, but then Azula had told him he looked like a little boy, and Mai had snickered and sort of agreed, and he had given in and found that, to his pleasant surprise, he does not look much like Ozai at all. "This hairstyle is very common in the Fire Nation."

"Yeah, for ladies, maybe," Sokka replies, his eyes wandering the room. "So, did you bring anyone else with you? Other than Mai, of course."

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Suki's not here." He watches his friend's face fall. "She guards Azula now."

Sokka chuckles. "Bet she loves that."

"My sister doesn't need to be guarded by the Imperial Firebenders anymore," Zuko explains. "And I thought she might benefit from some… less foreboding faces. I offered to give the assignment to someone else. I know what happened in the Boiling Rock." He shrugs. "She assured me it wouldn't be a problem."

"How did it go with Kuei?" Aang asks. "It seemed important."

"It wasn't," Zuko replies with clenched teeth.

"Yeah," Aang sighs, his eyes downcast. "It usually isn't with him."

"He tries," Sokka shrugs.

Zuko glances over. "Sokka, you don't even know him."

"We've met," he replies, folding his arms across his chest. "I mean, I'm not best friends with the guy like you two are—"

"We are _not_ friends." Zuko is practically snarling.

"Whoa, I know," Sokka holds his hands up. "It was a joke."

"Zuko," Aang takes a step forward, his brow wrinkling in concern. "What happened?"

He scans the room. A group of Air Acolytes stand nearby. Katara is in a far corner conversing with one of Aang's Earth Kingdom representatives, a man with long brown hair that Zuko thinks he has seen before. "I'll tell you later," he mutters.

So that night, in Zuko's suite, when they all have steaming cups of tea in front of them, he is not surprised when Aang asks again. "Zuko… are you going to tell us what happened with Kuei?"

He groans and brings his face to his hand. He can feel Mai begin to rub slow circles into his back. Finally, he looks back up. Aang, Katara, and Sokka wear matching looks of concern. "He asked for Azula."

Silence.

"What do you mean, he asked for Azula?" Sokka asks slowly.

"That's exactly what I mean," Zuko answers. "He asked me to send her to the Earth Kingdom. He wants to try her as a war criminal."

"But… isn't she a war criminal?" Katara asks gently.

"I am not giving her to him!" Zuko exclaims as Mai's hand presses more forcefully into his back. A warning. He takes a deep breath. "He'll have her executed. I'm sure of it."

"I'm not saying you should," Katara explains. "It's just that, if it was Chief Arnook asking for Admiral Zhao, you wouldn't hesitate, right?"

"If anyone had any idea where Admiral Zhao was." Zuko nods. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I just think you need to realize why you're really upset," Katara answers. "It's not because the Earth King is asking you to send a criminal off to some kangaroo court." Her face darkens. "We all know Zhao would have deserved whatever they handed down to him."

"No," Zuko replies. "It's because she's young and because she's sick—"

"And because she's your sister?" Katara supplies, one eyebrow raised. She looks annoyingly smug. "Look, maybe Kuei's demand was a little off-color, and you have a good reason not to want to give him what he's asking for. I just think you need to realize that not everyone is going to see it that way. On the surface, his request sounds reasonable."

"I'll talk to him," Aang says, his expression etched in resolve. "I'm sure I can get him to back down. He's not an unreasonable man."

"No," Zuko agrees. "But he has no idea how politics work."

"He probably just doesn't realize what he's asking for," Aang replies. "I'll take care of it."

* * *

It happens two weeks after Zuko returns to the palace in the Fire Nation. He is jolted awake. He can make out a white and red face leaning over him as his eyes struggle to focus. Beside him, he hears Mai stir.

"Zuko," Suki is saying urgently. "You need to get up."

She curls her fists around the front of his robes and, with a grunt, pulls him into a sitting position.

"What time is it?" he hears Mai slur.

"It's just before four," Ty Lee's voice comes from the other side of the bed. "Come on, Mai. I know you're not a morning person, but this is really important."

"You know I don't wake up before the sun," Mai argues.

Even half asleep, he Zuko can hear the frustration in Ty Lee's voice. "I thought you were a creature of the night."

"Just because I paint my nails black doesn't mean—" The end of her sentence is eclipsed by a yawn.

"What's so important?" Zuko groans as Suki pulls his legs over the side of the bed and begins struggling to shove his feet into slippers. "Why are you covered in dirt?"

"Something happened at the asylum," Suki answers quickly, and Zuko is instantly awake. "There's been an attempt on Azula's… well, we're not sure if it was her life exactly. We haven't had a chance to question them."

"Is she okay?" Zuko asks, batting Suki's hands away from his feet so he can lace his slippers himself.

"She's shaken up," Suki replies shortly. Zuko knows exactly what that means. She is having an episode. She is not okay, but not necessarily any worse than expected.

"And you caught them?" Zuko clarifies as he stands up and reaches for his robe.

Suki nods solemnly. "We did. They didn't seem to be working with anyone else. You should be safe. It looks like Azula was the target."

"That's new," Zuko mutters under his breath. He is not exactly upset that his sister is not subject to the same assassination attempts that he has all but gotten used to, but it is different to be in the clear for once.

"Then can't this wait?" Mai murmurs, her voice still heavy with fatigue. "I'm going back to sleep."

He hears a thump behind him as his girlfriend collapses back onto the pillows. Usually, Zuko is amused by his her staunch inability to rouse herself before ten, but given the circumstances, he is merely annoyed. He crosses to Mai's side of the bed in three long strides and brushes a very disgruntled Ty Lee out of the way.

"We are not leaving you here. What if you're next? Come on," he mutters as he lifts Mai out of the bed and sets her on her feet. "We have to go on a trip." Like waking a six year old. He drapes her robe over her shoulders and begins to guide her to the door. "Are your eyes even open?" he asks when she stumbles.

"Barely," she murmurs, head drooping.

"The palanquins are waiting outside," Suki calls as she hurries to catch up. He realizes now that her lip is split and the beginning of a black eyes is forming under her makeup. "We'll meet you there."

* * *

Azula is tapping her fingers rhythmically against the pad of her thumb when Zuko enters her room. It is a habit she has picked up within the past year. Her reunion with Ursa has changed her in more ways than one. She seems less enraged now, and more nervous. The paranoia is still there, of course. The doctors have told him that the content of her hallucinations has changed. He thinks he knows what she is seeing now. He has never asked. She would never tell him. But her delusions speak for themselves.

Her face is hidden behind a curtain of her hair. It looks soft and clean, and, though it lacks the shine it once possessed, it is nice to see that she is still so well cared for. It is getting long though, he realizes. Perhaps he should ask if she wants it cut. "Didhe send them?" Azula asks without looking up. "You can tell me. I already know it was him."

"I don't know who sent them yet," Zuko answers. "I haven't been to question them. I wanted to make sure you were okay first."

He is surprised at how calm she seems. She is curled up against the wall in the corner of her bed, knees drawn to her chest, but her voice is level, composed, even if what she is saying makes no sense. The fresh scrapes on her knuckles and the bruises forming up and down her legs give her away, though. He'd given the order as soon as they'd arrived back at the palace the year before: now that Azula is no longer completely lethal, she is not to be restrained. It always seemed to make things worse anyway. Unfortunately, that means that the orderlies have to go into her room and hold her down when she gets worked up and poses a danger to herself. He expects that, somewhere in the building, there are staffers with bruises to match.

"Oh, Zuzu," she sighs. "You always were more sentimental than practical. That's probably why he likes me best." She sighs bitterly, and even from across the room, he can see her deflate. "Not anymore though." Finally, she turns her head to look at him, and he is shocked to see the moisture on her cheeks. He can count on both hands the number of times he remembers seeing his sister cry. More than half of those have been within the past three years, during her episodes, and he is not sure if those count, because she does not seem aware of what is happening. "That's why he sent them. To kill me." She shrugs as if they are discussing what she ate for lunch that afternoon. "He's been talking about it for a while."

"He's been talking about having you killed?" Zuko repeats.

"I believe that's what I just said." He catches the irritation in her voice, but he ignores it. He crosses the small room in two long strides and seats himself on the opposite end of the mattress. His sister looks up at him.

She raises an eyebrow. "Feeling brave?"

He reaches across the bed and places a hand on her shoulder, watches her regard it with the utmost distaste before meeting his eyes again. "Feeling like your brother."

Azula merely glares at him. "You're disgraceful. No wonder her wanted me to be the Fire Lord instead."

"And yet…" Zuko touches a finger to his hairpiece.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Where are my guards? At least they're more pleasant company. Even if one of them does look perpetually nervous and the other one never stops talking."

He raises his eyebrows. "They left right behind me," he answers. "They're probably with your assailants now."

"And the Fire Lady?"

"Mai and I are not married," Zuko reminds her as the corners of him mouth fold into a frown.

"Technicalities," Azula replies with a wave of her hand. We all know it's going to happen eventually, brother. Why deny the obvious?"

Zuko sighs. "I left her on the bench in the hall. She's probably fallen back asleep by now."

"Yes, she was never an early riser," Azula agrees. "Sometimes when we were hunting you, I pretended to forget she was still asleep and made Ty Lee disassemble the tent with her inside." He can see the ghost of a smirk play across her lips, but it is gone as suddenly as it appeared. "Still, I can't help but find myself a little offended by her cavalier attitude. There was an attempt on my life. We're supposed to be friends, after all, or so she keeps telling me."

"Well, we don't know that they were actually trying to kill you—"

"Of course, they were, Zuko. Why else would he send them?"

"—and we talked to Suki and Ty Lee. She knows you're fine." His eyes flit to her hands.

"I wasn't fine when they last saw me," Azula scoffs. She holds up a fist so that Zuko is staring directly at one of her bloodied knuckles. "I got this from Ty Lee's headdress."

"Would you like me to send a doctor in to look at those?" he asks, reaching her fist. The cuts seem deep now that he has had a good look at them. Not the usual scrapes she gets from the walls.

She shakes her head and pulls her hand away. "They'll be fine. They're already scarred anyway."

"Is there anything else you need?" he asks like he does every time he visits.

"Hmm." Azula taps her index finger on her chin. "Now that you mention it, I've decided I would like to be taken to the courtyard for my daily exercise in my palanquin. I'm getting quite tired of _walking_ everywhere like some peasant."

He allows himself to chuckle. "I'll see what I can do," he answers, as he does every completely unreasonable request she makes. "What about your hair? It's getting long again. Should I arrange for the royal hairdresser to pay a visit?"

"Actually, I've decided to grow it out," she replies airily.

"Grow it out?" he repeats. "Why?"

"Well," she shrugs. "It's about the only part of my life I can control anymore. I'll grow it until it touches the floor if I choose to."

"Uhhh, okay," he answers slowly. "If that's what you want." He pushes himself off the mattress and begins to pull the sheets out from under her. "Come on. Get in."

"I'm not a child, Zuko," she admonishes, but she lies down and allows him to pull the blankets over her body anyway.

"No," he answers. "But you're my little sister."

"Disgusting."

"I'll be back in the morning to let you know what we find out," he calls over his shoulder as he makes his way back to the door. "Just… try to get some sleep, okay?"

"I never sleep," he hears her mutter as he pulls the door closed behind him.


	2. Fate is Underhanded

"Okay," Ty Lee hums slowly, fingers pressed to her chin in thought. "Favorite… color."

"Yellow," Suki yawns. "You asked me that one two days ago."

"Fine." She takes another moment to think. "Favorite flavor of pie."

"Banana," Suki answers. "Remember? Like they had in Ba Sing Se. You asked me that one last week."

Ty Lee groans. "We've been doing this for months now," she replies. "I've asked you every question I can think of."

"Maybe it's time to come up with another new game." Suki sighs. "Any ideas? And don't say I Spy. I swear, if I have to spend another minute guessing which tile on the floor you're spying, I'll have to check myself in."

"Maybe we could just go to sleep?" Ty Lee suggests, taking a nervous, sidelong look at her captain. "Nothing ever happens anyway, and everyone else does."

"Everyone else isn't guarding one of the most infamous war criminals in the world." Suki argues, folding her arms across her chest.

"Azula is not a war criminal," Ty Lee informs her for what feels like the hundredth time, and probably is. "She just… made some mistakes. Trusted the wrong people. She's not a bad person."

Suki scoffs. "Tell that to my wrists." She holds them out in front of her and rolls her hands around to demonstrate. She has to wrap them when she goes on duty now, and her range of motion is still limited. She winces and brings her wrists to her chest, each hand taking a turn massaging the other. Ty Lee and Suki were not in the Boiling Rock at the same time, and Suki does not talk about it much, but Ty Lee has been able to deduce that she spent some time hanging from the ceiling by her wrists. Being interrogated, probably. She was the leader of the group found in the company of the Avatar's primary means of transportation, after all. The idea that she might have some information on his whereabouts is not exactly a stretch. Ty Lee feels a pang of guilt at the memory. The experience has left Suki's wrists slightly arthritic, something she spent a lot of time denying for the first six months after the war ended, up until Katara convinced her that if she didn't start minding them, her fighting would be permanently impaired. "Still," she adds. "I'm not going to be asleep when someone tries to come for the Princess."

"Don't be silly," Ty Lee answers with a wave of her hand. "No one is going to come for—"

She is cut off by what sounds like a low growl. It echoes ominously down the corridor. Suki's hands move to her waist and she draws her fans. Ty Lee follows suit. Her eyes search through the darkness quickly, desperately. Suki's armor clanks against the wall and Ty Lee jumps.

She is not aware of the large shape approaching until it is right on top of them. At first she thinks it is a wall, and then she realizes it's a boulder.

"Earthbenders!" she hears Suki call in a voice that is designed to carry—though who too, Ty Lee does not know, because they are the only trained fighters on duty tonight—and then there is a loud thud as the boulder collides with her shoulder and she is thrown against the door of Azula's room.

Ty Lee leaps over it, rolling in midair. It makes her feel like she is in the circus again, but she pushes the memory from her head. Now is not the time to reminisce. There are four of them, and she is immediately surrounded when she lands. The first, the one who sent the boulder has is back turned to her. He is down, his chi blocked before he has time to realize she has moved. A piece of the wall hits her across the face, and she hears a crack. She immediately curses the Fire Nation for having the audacity to build the asylum out of marble.

The pain in her nose is almost blinding, but she manages to stay on her feet as the floor beneath her shoots toward the ceiling. She can hear a scuffle to her left. When she looks over, Suki is back on her feet, engaged in hand to hand combat with one of the men. She is doing all she can to keep the assailant's hands occupied so that he does not have time to bend, but Ty Lee can see her slowly losing control of the altercation, as his hands move slightly faster than her own.

The other two men are coming towards her. They are pulling the marble from the walls like magnets, melding it around their bodies until it forms armor. She braces herself for pain as she runs to meet them, jumping and twisting her body, aiming her feet at a pair of eyes, the only part of either body that she can see. Her aim is just off. The warrior flings his arm up to block her, and suddenly, she is rolling across the ground, gasping at the shooting pain in her side.

She can still hear Suki fighting with the other man, and she is just thinking that it is a good thing one of them is on her feet when she hears a low grunt followed by a gagging sound, and then Suki is lying crumpled on the ground as well. She pushes herself to her feet and staggers over to her captain.

"Suki!" she wheezes, clutching her side. "Are you okay?"

Suki coughs and spits out something dark. "I'm here." She hugs the wall as she rises to her feet. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know," Ty Lee cries, pulling on her braid and searching desperately through the darkness. "They disappeared. Why did they disappear?"

"Because finishing us off wasn't their job." Suki's eyes are wide, and Ty Lee instantly understands. "They only needed to get past us."

"Azula!"

Ty Lee pulls Suki the rest of the way upright, and they both yelp in pain before they start down the corridor as quickly as they can, limping and clutching different parts of their bodies. Ty Lee grits her teeth against tears that will only cloud her vision.

Suki is in the room first. All three men are hunched over the bed and Ty Lee can hear screaming. A wet screaming. Suki jabs her fan into the one man's back, right between his shoulder blades. It is a move that Ty Lee showed her, but she does not have time to feel pride as the man hits the ground. She is too busy plunging her fingers into another man's pressure points. The third assailant whirls around and sprints toward the door. Thrown over his shoulder, shrieking and sobbing and trying desperately to maneuver her body so that she has an angle to strike a blow, is Azula.

They are through the doorway, and before Ty Lee and Suki have time to follow, the ceiling begins to collapse, blocking their exit. Suki wraps her arms tightly around Ty Lee's chest to block her from attempting to run through the storm of marble.

"Let me go!" Ty Lee is crying as she struggles against her friend's body. "I can get her! Let me go!"

She can feel Suki shake her head. "You're going to get yourself killed."

But before the dust has even settled, Suki throws herself at the rocks and immediately begins to shift them around, occasionally squeaking and dropping one of her shoulders. "How long will these guys be out?" she demands.

"About half an hour," Ty Lee answers, forcing herself to take calming breaths as she rushes her join her. "We have time," she adds. "Except that there's no one else to stop that guy from getting out of the building with Azula."

"Wait, here!" Suki cries, as she breaks a piece of rock free. "I can see through to the other side."

"Where?" Ty Lee demands, but she is already shifting her body so she can pull at the hunks of marble in front of her friend.

After only a few minutes of straining to clear a hole, they are both sweating and gasping for breath. "I think we can fit through now," Suki pants, and Ty Lee is not sure if she actually thinks that, or if she just cannot work anymore. She pulls the pins out of her hair so she can remove her headpiece and toss it through the hole before her. Then her head and shoulders disappear, and soon she is all the way through. Ty Lee follows her. There is a loud tearing sound that echoes in the corridor as she rips the arm of her uniform, but she is about three cracked ribs past caring.

"What happened?" she hears Suki ask. She looks up and gasps. The fourth warrior is lying face down on the marble floor. Two feet away, Azula is huddled against the wall, palms pressed to her forehead, rocking back and forth. Ty Lee can hear her panicked breathing from where she stands, ten feet away.

"Azula," she cries, hurrying to the Princess' side. As soon as her hand lands on her friend's shoulder, Azula throws her fist towards Ty Lee's head. She dodges, but she feels it catch on her headpiece.

"Get away from me!" Azula screams. "You can't treat me like this! I am the Princess of the Fire Nation, the Conqueror of Ba Sing Se! You can't just kill me and expect no one to notice!"

"No one is trying to kill you Azula," Ty Lee answers in a voice that she hopes is soothing. "You're safe."

"I will never be safe!" she cries, her eyes still squeezed shut. "Not as long as he wants me dead!"

After a moment's hesitation, Ty Lee tries to lay a hand on the Princess' shoulder again. This time, Azula lashes out in every direction. One fist knocks against the wall with a loud crack, the other is too fast for Ty Lee this time, and collides with her cheek. Her legs kick out furiously, almost knocking Suki off her feet. Before either of them have had time to recover from the shock of the outburst, Azula is sprinting down the hall, still shrieking about assassination attempts and the mysterious _him_ that Ty Lee always hears her mention.

She sighs, becoming increasingly aware that blood is dripping onto her sleeve from somewhere on her face. Probably her nose, she thinks. "I'm too tired to chase her."

"That's okay," Suki leans heavily against the wall and slides to the ground beside her. "The orderlies will stop her before she gets to the stairs."

"Someone should tell Zuko," Ty Lee points out, but she makes no move to get to her feet. Now that the fighting is over, she is becoming less and less able to ignore the throbbing in her face.

Suki groans, bringing a finger to her lip to test how heavy the bleeding is. "In five minutes…" she pauses to breathe. "We'll go get him."

* * *

"They were earthbenders," Suki informs him. They are standing outside the room where Azula's assailants are being held. Mai is actually on her feet now, her back turned away from him, studying Ty Lee's face and poking around at her ribs, taking stock of her injuries. The more awake he his, the more he notices the visible evidence of the beating that she and Suki took. They are both limping, both wincing when they breath, both wearing uniforms sporting rips and blood stains. Ty Lee has rivers of dried blood running from her nostrils to her chin and bruising around the bridge of her nose. Suki's black eye is in full bloom now, showing through her makeup, and her lip looks even worse in the light. He feels a pang of guilt for how hard a time he and Mai gave them for waking them up.

"I took out one of them," she continues. "Ty Lee took out two. We don't really know what happened with the fourth one. He ran out into the hall with Azula, but the ceiling caved in after him, and by the time we got there, he was on the ground."

"Azula must have done it," Ty Lee adds, poking her head around Mai's shoulder. "She's always been pretty skilled at hand to hand combat. I mean, she could never take me, but—"

"Stop moving," Mai admonishes, her fingers flying to Ty Lee's chin to hold her head in place. "I'm trying to figure out if your nose is broken."

"Anyway, Ty Lee blocked their chi again when we got back here," Suki continues. "They should be able to bend again in about twenty minutes. I want you out of there by then."

"I'll be fine," Zuko replies. "I mean, they're tied up, aren't they?"

"They're earthbenders, Zuko," Suki answers, one eyebrow raised as if it should be obvious. "This building is made of marble. It might not matter that their hands are tied."

"Okay," Zuko sighs. "Twenty minutes, and then I'm done."

Suki nods solemnly and pulls the door open. Zuko steps into the room, and immediately, the pieces come together.

"I don't believe this," he mutters as the door slams closed behind him and he is left to stare at the four warriors. "You're Dai Li."

None of the men look up, but it does not matter. Zuko has spent enough time in Ba Sing Se. He would recognize the green and gold of the King's secret police force anywhere.

"Who sent you?" he demands. "Was it the Earth King?" He clenches his fist and does not even notice when it goes up in flames. Two of the men jump, the third grits his teeth, the fourth is still unconscious. He focuses on the jumpers, the chinks in the team's armor. They are young, probably just older than he is, but they look tired. They look like they have seen more than they should have by their early twenties. They were probably recruited after the earthbender work camps were liberated at the end of the war.

He brings his engulfed fist to the side of one agent's head, so close that the flames nearly tickle his ear, and leans in so that he can see beads of sweat forming on the man's forehead. He feels like his father, and he hates himself for it, but he hates these assailants even more for daring to touch his sister. "Who ordered the assassination?"

"It…" the man stammers. "It wasn't an assassination."

"Huy!" the agent who clenched his teeth hisses. It is a warning. He must be the leader. Zuko's warning will be stronger.

"What was your intention, Huy?" Zuko demands, bringing the flame even closer, singeing the end of several strands of hair.

"We… we… were only told to take her!" Huy cries. Zuko can see him blinking back tears. _He hates himself_ , but he will do what he needs to to ensure Azula's safety.

"Where to?" He moves his hand to singe another lock of hair.

"B-B-Ba Sing Se!"

"By who?" Zuko shouts. "By who?"

For a moment, he thinks that Huy might actually tell him, but then he presses his lips together and shakes his head, a tear streaming down his cheek. Zuko moves to the other agent who jumped. "By who?" he demands once more, but this man seems intent on making up for his earlier show of weakness by staring Zuko resolutely in the eye. "Was it your captain?" he asks, and the man stares. "Was it the head of the Dai Li?" The man stares. "Was it one of the Earth Kingdom's foreign delegation?" The man stares. "Was it Earth King Kuei?" His eyes flit toward the floor. It takes him less than a second to realize his mistake before he matches his gaze to Zuko's once more, but the time is more than enough. Zuko straightens up, extinguishes the flame surrounding his hand. "Thank you, gentlemen," he says, his voice level once again as he turns and knocks twice on the door to be let out. "You've been very helpful."

"What did you learn?" Mai asks before Suki has even completely closed the door behind him. She has her arm around Ty Lee, who is learning heavily into her side.

"It was an attempted kidnapping," Zuko answers through clenched teeth. "Ordered by the Earth King."

He hears three simultaneous gasps. "Did they tell you that?" Mai's eyes are narrowed.

"They might as well have," he replies. "They told me they were ordered to capture her and take her to Ba Sing Se. They got jumpy when Kuei's name came up."

"But," Suki begins, coming around to his side. "Why would the Earth King want Azula kidnapped?"

Zuko sighs and brings his fingers to his temples. He has not told anyone other than Mai, Aang, Katara, and Sokka about Kuei's demand, but he had kind of expected Suki and Ty Lee to find out. Apparently, he thinks with a jolt of appreciation, Mai and Sokka are more tightlipped than he realized.

"He asked me to turn her over to him," he answers. "To stand trial for war crimes. I told him I wouldn't do it. He warned me that he wouldn't take no for an answer but," Zuko pauses, "I guess I just didn't take him seriously." It occurs to him that maybe he could have prevented this. Not the attempt, of course, but the fact that they'd gotten as far as they had, that Azula had gone through what she did. If he had paid serious attention to what the Earth King said, the Dai Li agents might have been apprehended long before they reached his sister's room. She might never have been the wiser.

"No one takes Kuei seriously," Mai reminds him. He feels her hand on his arm, and he suddenly appreciates her more than he thinks he ever has before. "Even the Avatar didn't."

He covers her hand with his own. "But I should have been more careful. It's my job to take care of her. I'm her brother."

"But you're also nineteen years old," Mai replies. "And you have a nation to run, and, surprising as it is, you've never dealt with a threat to Azula before. You can't expect to get everything right on the first try. You're not perfect." She looks around the corridor, a hawk-like expression on her face as she takes stock of the people around her. "Who is currently stationed outside of Azula's room?"

"Kiko, Min, and Yani," Suki replies. "I had them pulled out of bed before we left to get you. I thought it might be a good idea to have an extra person on her for a while."

"Good," Mai nods. She jerks her head toward the door of the room where the Dai Li agents are being kept. "And these guys?"

"The Imperial Firebenders are waiting to take them up to the tower," Suki answers.

"Well, then," she turns to Ty Lee, "we should get the two of you to a physician, or a waterbender if we can find one. And you," she adds, focusing on Zuko, "need to go back to bed. You have a meeting with the High Admiral in less than four hours. You don't want to show up looking like you just climbed out of the Fog of Lost Souls."

He has _definitely_ never appreciated Mai as much as he does right now.

* * *

"I just don't see any other option." He is pacing at the foot of the bed again. Mai lies on her back under the blankets, her arms crossed, looking somehow both patient and annoyed. "We have to hide her somehow."

"Mmhm," she murmurs.

He stops and turns to her. "Can we fake her death? Is that done?"

Mai sighs in exasperation. "Zuko, are you listening to yourself? You need to sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning when you're thinking straight."

"Azula could be kidnapped by the morning," he argues madly, starting to pace again.

Mai raises an eyebrow. "I highly doubt the Earth King is going to try to have her kidnapped twice in one night. He probably doesn't even know his attack failed yet. Now come sleep. You're going to wear a hole in the carpet."

"I can't," he mumbles. "I have to figure this out. It's too important."

"Look," Mai replies gently, sitting up. "If you really want to keep Azula hidden, you need to send her somewhere."

Zuko sinks down on the bed and drops his head into his hands. "I can't do that." He looks over at Mai. "Have you seen her lately? She's… she's a mess. She can't be on her own. She wouldn't make it a week."

He can feel her hand on his shoulder as he turns back around. "Then don't send her on her own."

"But I wouldn't be able to go with her," he points out. "I'd just have to send her off with someone. I might never see her again. She could die alone in a cave and I wouldn't know."

"Are you saying you won't send her away because you would be too _worried_ about her?" He can hear the smirk her in her voice. "Zuko, that's so touching. I might throw up."

He makes a noise that is half a sigh and half a groan, and he nods. It still feels strange to worry about Azula after years of not knowing what was happening to her and, frankly, not caring, but seeing her chained to that grate, sobbing and broken, had reminded him of something that he had forgotten long ago, when her firebending skills had first surpassed his. Azula is his sister. His little sister. And it is his job to make sure she is okay, regardless of whether or not she needs it, which, right now, she most definitely does.

"You know, she did spend several months traveling the Earth Kingdom without adult supervision when she was fourteen," Mai reminds him. "And she conquered most of it."

"But that was different," he argues. "She was so much different then. She was a killing machine. No one could have touched her."

Her hands still momentarily. "You can't honestly think she would be better off if she was still like that."

"I don't," he assures her. "But she was… better equipped then. And she was lucid all the time. What if she starts seeing things in the middle of a crowded square. How long do you think it will take after she starts yelling about the Fire Lord trying to kill her before someone puts the pieces together?"

"That's why we send someone with her," Mai explains. "To make sure things like that don't happen. It's not like she's helpless. She did take out a Dai Li agent. Not a lot of people could do that, with or without bending."

"I know."

He feels her nails skim the base of his neck. "You know, if you don't want him to get to her… if you don't want this to keep happening, this is the only way."

"I know." He sighs, long and heavy. "It's just not a good option."

"There are no good options," Mai answers sadly. "This is just the best bad option."

Her arms creep around his chest and he feels her chin hook over his shoulder. He turns his head to press a kiss to her temple. "Why is being the Fire Lord so much easier than being her brother?"

Mai hums in thought for a moment before she answers. "Because sometimes it's just easier to know what's right for the Fire Nation than it is to know what's right for Azula."

As she pulls him down onto the mattress and curls up beside him, he realizes just how lucky he is to have Mai. He often feels like she has a better grasp on politics and diplomacy than he does, and sometimes he has no idea how he would navigate his duties alone. The few months she had been gone two years ago had been some of the most difficult in his life, including the years of his banishment. If something happened to him, he decides, or, rather, if something happened to both him and Azula, he would have no qualms with leaving the throne to Mai.

* * *

"Two visits in less than twelve hours," Zuko hears as the door closes behind him. Azula is lying on her side with her back toward him. "Careful, brother, I'll start to feel important."

"Azula." He greets as he scratches at the back of his neck. "How did you know it was me?"

"Are you joking?" She laughs bitterly. "I know my two favorite guards must have the day off after what happened. Who else would come to visit me?"

"Oh," he mutters, suddenly feeling very awkward. "Right."

"So…" she rolls over so that she is facing him, and studies him expectantly. "You've talked to them now. He sent them to kill me." It is a statement, not a question.

"No," Zuko answers. He moves toward the bed and sits down. "They were sent by the Earth King to capture you."

"That's ridiculous. Why would the Earth King want to capture me?" she demands, and for a moment, he is reminded forcefully to the conqueror she was at fourteen. Then she sits up and hugs her knees to her chin and the moment is over.

He breathes a heavy sigh. "I have to tell you something."

"Well then, get on with it," she barks, but she sounds resigned. "The suspense is killing me."

"Kuei asked for something the last time I saw him."

"Oh, really?" She raises her eyebrows. "And here I was so sure he just wanted to hear all about your vacation."

He feels the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile. Despite how he may have felt about her up until three years ago, he will truly miss his sister. "He wants to try you for what you did to the Earth Kingdom during the war."

"You mean, he wants to execute me," Azula clarifies.

"I'm glad you understand the gravity of the situation," Zuko answers with a nod. "So you see why it's imperative that he doesn't get his hands on you."

She nods, her eyebrows knitted together. "He tried to have me kidnapped because you wouldn't hand me over?"

"That's what it looks like," Zuko confirms.

"You know, this is why you're so weak, Zuzu," she informs him seriously.

"I'm weak because I refused to hand you over to the Earth Nation to be executed as a war criminal?" he repeats, disbelief laced through his voice.

"You _made_ me your weakness," Azula explains, rolling her eyes as if he should know this already, and he restrains himself from reminding her that he was never properly educated about how to rule a nation; he'd been exiled only two years after becoming Crown Prince. "Father would have handed me over in a second."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not Father then, isn't it?" he answers.

"Then again," she reasons. "If Father was still in charge, I would already be dead. He's made that very clear."

"He has?" Zuko asks, leaning toward his sister. "When?"

She waves her hand. "Constantly, but never mind that. What's your next move? Personally, I've always liked the idea of ordering a covert assassination, but frankly I just don't think you have the nerve or the deception skills to pull it off. Tell me, Zuzu, do you think you can look the citizens of a war-torn Earth Kingdom village in the eye and tell them you're sorry for the loss of their king?"

"Umm, no," Zuko answers, tugging at the high collar of his robe. "I'm… not going to do that." He pauses and sighs. "Listen, Azula, Mai and I were talking, and we think that it might be best if we sent you away for a while."

A moment of silence. "Well, I suppose that will make things easier for you."

He narrows his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"He was right," Azula mutters, hugging her knees tighter and beginning to curl in on herself. His eyes grow wide as he realizes he has set something off. "You want to get rid of me. I have no worth anymore." Her voice is growing louder and shriller. "What's even the point of me? Tell me, brother, how long have you been speaking to him? How long did it take him to convince you? How long did it take him to convince Mai?"

"Azula," he grips her upper arms. "No one convinced me of anything. I haven't been talking to anyone about you. No one except for Mai."

"Of all people, I never thought he would get to you," she continues, her eyes wide and frightened. "I thought you hated him too much. I thought I would be safe with you."

"You are safe, Azula," he assures her. "I only want what's best for you, I promise. It's just hard to know what that is sometimes."

She begins to shake her head furiously. "You're lying! Did he tell you to lie?"

"No one told me to lie!" he insists. "I'm _not_ lying!"

The door flies open and three orderlies rush into the room. Zuko throws up his hand. "Stop! I've got this!" He turns back to his sister, wraps his arms protectively around her and pulls her to his chest.

"You're lying," she repeats as she struggles against him. Her fists beat at his back and shoulder, but he does not let go. He has seen Azula through too many episodes to be intimidated. And he would rather it be him. If someone is going to hold her down with enough force to bruise so that she does not injure herself, if someone is going to bear bruises to match, he would rather it be him. "You're lying. You're lying."

"I have never lied to you Azula," he murmurs as he rocks them back and forth. The motion seems to soothe her, because, though she is still repeating the mantra, she is doing it less and less forcefully. "I'll find someone to go with you. Someone who will take care of you. I promise, I would never just toss you aside."

"Yes you would." Her breathing is harsh and irregular against his chest.

"It'll be okay," he promises. "I wouldn't… I wouldn't do this to you if I thought there was another way to keep you safe."

"Or if I wasn't worthless," she murmurs. "Or if I still had a shred of… of honor."

He smiles despite himself. "Don't worry about _honor_. Don't worry about anything. I'll work it out with Kuei, and you'll be able to come back home in no time."

Azula is beginning to calm down, but he can still feel her back heaving beneath is arms. "You're lying again," she mutters.

He does not answer.


	3. Fate Is Reasonable

Zuko has never had a meeting in the war room with this few people in attendance. It seems a waste, he realizes, but he chose this room because of the large world map stenciled on the surface of the long table. He, Mai, Suki, and Ty Lee are gathered around it.

Mai called a waterbender in the previous night to look at Suki and Ty Lee, and while they both look much more comfortable when they walk and breathe, the bruising is still barely visible on both their faces, and there is a small scar extending from Suki's upper lip.

Ty Lee gasps as she looks around, awestruck. She is leaning back so far to look up at the ceiling that, if she wasn't a contortionist, Zuko is sure she would have fallen over. "I've never been in this room before," she gasps, and at first it surprises him that Azula never brought her in here for meetings on strategy—she was one of her lieutenants, after all—until he remembers that the first time he brought Mai in here to a war meeting, she said the same thing.

"Why are we here?" Zuko detects a hint of suspicion in Suki's voice.

"We have a problem," he answers. He approaches the table and looks down at the map. "Mai and I discussed our options last night." He hesitates, swallows, because _saying it will make it real_. "We've decided to send Azula away."

"What!" Ty Lee's cry echoes through the cavernous room. "Why?"

Mai drapes an arm over her friend's shoulders. "The Earth King isn't going to stop trying to get to her," she explains. "The only way we can protect her from him is if we make sure he doesn't know where she is." She pauses to study at the acrobat. "It's what's best for her, Ty."

Suki joins Zuko at the side of the table and runs her hand over the map in front of them. "Where are you planning on sending her?"

"Well, it has to be somewhere she won't be recognized," he answers. "Which doesn't exactly leave us with a lot left over."

"Nowhere in the Fire Nation," Mai continues. "The cities here are filled with families whose daughters went to school with us and whose sons she commanded."

"And Omashu," Ty Lee adds. "Everyone saw us in Omashu."

"We weren't exactly trying for stealth," Mai agrees. "Azula and the Avatar nearly destroyed the shoot system. People won't forget her so easily."

"You don't want to send her to any small town either," Suki chimes in. "On Kyoshi Island, newcomers were practically investigated because they were so rare."

Zuko swears under his breath. Kyoshi Island would have been perfect. Most of its inhabitants were born there, and travel to and from the Island is still restricted, so the odds of someone who knew her showing up would have been slim. It is perfect for all the same reasons that make it impossible. "So no South Pole then either," he sighs.

"No North Pole either," Suki replies. "From what Sokka tells me, the Water Tribes live in close-knit community. Even though the North Pole is bigger, it won't take people long to realize that no one recognizes her." Zuko groans. The North Pole had been another one of his most promising ideas.

"What about Gaoling?" Ty Lee suggests. "It's… kind of big."

He shakes his head. "That's where Toph's from. People who fought with her in the war could turn up at any time. Not all of them will be willing to keep the secret. Republic City's out for the same reason."

"Not to mention that Republic City is a complete mess, no matter what the Avatar says," Mai mutters in a voice Zuko is certain he was not supposed to hear.

"Okay, this might sound crazy," Suki begins. "But hear me out. What about Ba Sing Se?"

"Ba Sing Se," Zuko repeats, his eyebrows raised. "You mean where the Earth King lives, where those Dai Li agents were supposed to take her, that Ba Sing Se?"

"Well, yes," Suki answers. "But here's the thing. Ba Sing Se is a huge city. It's almost half the size of the entire Fire Nation, and the Earth King almost never leaves the Upper Ring. If Azula lived in the Lower Ring, she could blend in with the crowd."

"It is the last place Kuei would look for her," Mai adds slowly, her brow creased in thought. "And no one would recognize her there. We spent most of our time in the palace, and when we did leave," she hesitates and glances at Suki, "we were disguised as Kyoshi Warriors."

"The Dai Li would recognize her," Ty Lee points out.

'The Dai Li aren't that prevalent in the Lower Ring," Zuko replies, remembering with a strange fondness the one-room apartment he and Iroh had shared. "Not unless there's trouble. She could avoid them if she was careful."

"Azula's nothing if not careful," Mai comments.

"Azula _was_ careful," Ty Lee amends. "Now she never thinks about anything before she does it."

"Because her actions no longer have consequences," Mai argues. "She's in an asylum either way. If her freedom was riding on her behavior, she could be careful again." She shrugs. "And it's not like we're sending her alone. There will be someone to keep an eye on her."

"Who are you sending?" Suki asks. Her expression is one of interest mingled with suspicion mingled with dread, and Zuko almost wants to keep her on the ropes, just for the fun of it, but in the interest of time, he decides against it.

"I wanted to talk to you about that, Ty Lee," he answers, turning his head toward the acrobat.

"You want… me to go?" She speaks slowly, like she is sure she's misunderstood, but Zuko nods.

"She needs someone she trusts," he explains. "I obviously can't go, and Mai…"

"Her presence would be missed," Suki finishes. "You two are such persistent subjects of gossip."

"But how to you know she _does_ trust me?" Ty Lee asks, her eyes even wider than usual. "I turned on her at the Boiling Rock."

"That was three years ago, Ty," Mai replies. "I'm sure she's gotten over it."

If the expression on Ty Lee's face is anything to go by, Zuko is sure that is the dumbest thing she has ever heard. "We cost her the war, Mai."

"We accelerated something that was already happening," Mai corrects. "She was heading that way for years. It's not our fault it happened, only that it happened when it did."

"Yeah," Ty Lee agrees. "When she was so close to _winning_. Besides, do you really think she'll see it that way. Hello? This is _Azula_ , we're talking about."

Zuko places a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "We need you to do this Ty Lee," he implores her. "Will you?"

She sighs and her shoulders seem to deflate under the weight of his hand. "I'll ask her," she finally, albeit grudgingly, answers. "If she agrees to go with me, I'll go, but if not, I'm not forcing her."

"Thank you." He draws her into a hug that takes her by surprise but that she cautiously returns. "Take good care of her, okay?"

"She hasn't said yes yet," Ty Lee reminds him.

He unwinds his arms from around her body and takes a step back. "She will," he answers with confidence. "You'll see."

* * *

Ty Lee has never before been nervous walking into the asylum. She has worked here, standing guard over Azula, for almost two years now, and the austere, marble building has never caused her any anxiety at all. Today, however, the long, white corridors seem endless. Each door she passes seems like the tick of a clock, another step toward the gallows, and the door to Azula's room is even more foreboding than the rest.

Azula is standing with her back to the door, when Ty Lee enters, and she does not look over her shoulder. "Are you checking on me?"

"Umm…" Ty Lee replies. "No."

The Princess whirls around so quickly that Ty Lee is certain she will lose her balance, but, like the agile warrior she once was, her feet stay planted firmly on the floor. "Ty Lee?" Her eyes narrow in suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to talk."

As she watches her toe scuff the floor, she hears a sigh. "Well, come over here, then. You don't expect me to yell across the room."

Ty Lee is fairly certain that Azula could whisper and she would still be able to hear her perfectly from her spot near the door, but she does not argue as she hesitantly crosses the room and sits down on the bed. Azula remains glued in place, hands clasped behind her back in a way that reminds her friend of a commander assessing his troops. They stare at each other for a moment before Azula barks, "Well, get on with it."

"Oh, okay. Well, umm…" she glances down at her hands, twisting frantically in her lap, "I have to ask you a question, actually."

"Ask away," Azula answers with a wave of her hand. "But I have to warn you, my beauty routines are a strict secret, so if it's about how I keep my hair so soft and manageable—"

"Are we friends?" She covers her mouth with her hand as soon as she says it, watching Azula's reaction carefully.

The Princess is silent for a long moment. "Who needs to know?"

"I do."

"I see." She turns away from Ty Lee, stroking her chin with her index finger. "Well, you did cost me my sanity," she answers. "But then, you're also one of the three people who actually comes to visit me of your own free will, and I must admit, I do find your presence… tolerable, which is more than I can say for most of the idiots I get to see in here, so I suppose that counts for something." Finally, she sighs. "Yes, I suppose we're friends."

"Oh," Ty Lee mumbles. "Good."

"Is that all?" Azula asks, turning back to her.

"No," Ty Lee replies, suddenly much more confident. "What would you think if we… went away for a while? Like a vacation."

"I'm not a child, Ty Lee," Azula informs her harshly. "I know it's not a vacation. My brother is sending me away."

"Only for your own safety," Ty Lee insists. "It's not like he wants to. And besides, that doesn't mean we can't still have fun."

Azula rolls her eyes. "We'll be on the run. You saw Zuko when he was on the run. Did it look like much fun to you?"

"But he was with your uncle." Ty Lee reasons. "How much fun could that possibly be? We'll be together."

Azula grimaces. "As loathe as I am to admit it, it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to me."

"Okay," the acrobat answers with a nod. "Okay, so… so we're going then."

The Princess raises an eyebrow. "Why don't you sound any more enthusiastic about this than I am?"

"Yes, I am!" Ty Lee replies quickly, realizing her mistake too late. "I'm excited!"

Azula narrows her eyes. "No you're not."

Ty Lee groans. "I'm just worried, okay? We'll be all on our own."

"We've done that before," Azula points out.

"Yeah, but…"

"But I wasn't crazy then?" her friend snaps. "I was taking care of you instead of you taking care of me?" A long silence. "You can agree, Ty Lee. I know it's true."

"It's not that," Ty Lee insists, even though it sort of is, because Azula's eyes are beginning to bulge the way they do right before she falls into a fit. "It's just… we'll be in Ba Sing Se. Where the Earth King is? And the Dai Li? We'll have to be a lot more careful than we were last time."

"We once conquered Ba Sing Se," Azula answers, and Ty Lee is surprised by her use of _we_ instead of _I_. "I think we can handle disappearing there."

"Well, when you put it that way—"

"Tell me, Ty Lee, how did you get stuck with this job?" she interrupts. She turns toward the acrobat once more and fixes her with a stare like she is trying to see right through her.

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asks.

"I mean," Azula sighs, "Surely you didn't volunteer to be my _keeper_. That can't have been in the job description when you decided to join that earth peasant girl and her painted band of fools. How did Zuko justify sticking you with this job?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "He and Mai can't go. I'm the only one left."

"The only one of what?" the Princess demands sharply, even though they both know she already knows the answer.

"The only one who can stand you."

Azula breathes a resigned sigh. "I suppose that is true." She moves to sit beside Ty Lee on the bed. "I have to admit, it will be good to finally be free of this place."

"Not really free though," Ty Lee points out. "Life in Ba Sing Se isn't going to be easy, Azula. We have to blend in. That means Lower Ring."

"I bet my brother is getting a real laugh out of this, isn't he?" she grumbles. "First I'm in the loony bin, then I have to go live in some ramshackle hut in a city I once ruled. I should be a High General at the very least."

"It's better than being executed by the Earth King," Ty Lee reminds her, quietly.

Azula offers a noncommittal shrug. "That remains to be seen."

Ty Lee groans. Of course, this can't be easy. Nothing has ever been easy with Azula. She has always been immensely frustrating, and sometimes Ty Lee wonders why they are friends at all, until she remembers that Azula has always been there when it counted. When she was six and she had her braid accidentally cut off, when she was eight and her father was investigated for soliciting prostitutes, when she was eleven and much more… developed than anyone else in their class, Azula had not made fun of her. Azula had made sure that no one made fun of her. Now is her chance to be here for Azula when it counts, she realizes.

So she wraps her arm around her friend's shoulders and tries to smile. "It will be. You'll see. It'll be just like when we were little and we used to play explorers in the garden, except it'll be real."

For a moment, Azula looks like she is about to argue, but then she snaps her mouth shut and Ty Lee nods in a mixture of relief and gratitude. "We're leaving tomorrow. Say goodbye to your room."

Azula smirks. "Yes, I'm sure it will be a heartfelt farewell." For a moment, it almost feels like three years ago, like Ty Lee is loyal, and Azula is strong, and they are about to set off on an adventure with all the might of the Fire Nation at their beck and call, and then Azula shifts against her side and Ty Lee can feel her ribs in place of the firm muscle she is expecting, and the moment is over.

* * *

"I really don't know how to thank you."

The courtyard is dark and empty. It always reminds Zuko of his agni kai with Azula when it is like this. It makes him feel uncomfortable, and he usually avoids it.

"It's really no problem," Aang replies. He is standing there, glider in hand, like he executes deals in dark alleys on a regular basis. Maybe he did when he was on the run. Zuko would not know. In any case, he is relieved that his friend had the sense not to bring Appa to the palace. The bison is a little hard to miss, and he had not been looking forward to fielding questions about why the Avatar paid him a midnight visit. Aang holds out a stack of papers. "That should get them into Ba Sing Se."

Zuko takes them and begins to flip through the pages. "I guess you can't tell me who your connection is."

Aang grins wickedly. "Let just say she couldn't _see_ a problem with helping out."

"You told _her_?" Zuko whispers urgently.

"Relax," Aang answers. "She doesn't know who they're for. Besides, I would trust her with my life. I have, actually, and so have you."

"I'll have to get her something especially nice for her next birthday." The Fire Lord forces himself to breathe and look back at the Avatar. "Azula doesn't look Earth Nation. Will that be a problem?"

Aang shakes his head. "Some of Sozin's colonies have been there a hundred years. A lot of Earth Nation citizens don't look Earth Nation." He taps the stack of papers with his finger. "That says she was born in a mixed family in a village near Republic City. Tell them they should play up their loyalty to the Earth Nation. They shouldn't have a problem getting past the wall."

Zuko nods. "I'll let Ty Lee know."

"Hey," Aang claps Zuko's shoulder with his hand. "They'll be okay. Remember how they captured Ba Sing Se practically overnight?"

Zuko clenches his teeth. "Why does everyone keep reminding me about that? I was there too, you know."

"So was I. I died." Aang replies in a voice much to cheerful for the words coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah…" Zuko mumbles. "Sorry about that."

"It wasn't your fault," Aang shrugs, even though Zuko knows that it was. "Sorry I couldn't get Kuei to back down." His face darkens, and it looks unnatural on him. "He seemed like he was listening at first, but then he just went back to the party line. _She won't get away with what she did to my people_."

"You tried," Zuko answers, trying to force a smile onto his face, because Aang really does deserve it, after all he's done to save the person who killed him and would have gladly done it a second time. "I'd be angry too, if I were him."

"I'm sure he thinks he's doing the right thing," the Avatar replies, the corners of his lips turning down just slightly. "He just has a hard time seeing things from any perspective other than his own. Remember when you were the same way?"

"Yeah," Zuko answers darkly. "Unfortunately."

"Well, I've got to go." He reaches up to rub the back of his neck, and his expression is nothing short of extremely guilty. "It's been a couple of hours. If I stay much longer, Katara will probably figure out that I'm not just out cleaning the grime from between Appa's toes."

Zuko raises his eyebrows in mild surprise. "You didn't tell her where you were going." Aang and Katara have always had the most stable relationship out of any of his friends. He and Mai were broken up for a year, and Sokka and Suki always seem solid when they see each other, but that is not often. "Trouble in paradise?"

"No," Aang answers, allowing his eyes to trail away from Zuko, toward the side of the courtyard where Azula spent five long hours in chains three years ago. "I just thought it might be best not to. I don't think she'd be very happy about the idea of Azula wandering around free in the largest city in the world."

"But she's always been so forgiving," Zuko comments dryly.

Aang grins again, the mischievous glint back in his eye. "Not with your family." He unfolds his glider and wraps his fingers around the handles before looking back at the Fire Lord. "Besides, there's a difference between forgiveness and trust."

He is gone before Zuko has time to say another word.

* * *

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow."

Suki is sitting on her bed in the room they have shared for more than two years watching Ty Lee stuff all of her belongings into a small bag while wondering how exactly she managed to accumulate so much.

"I mean, it's just so sudden," she continues. "Yesterday we were making plans to go to the street fair in Fire Fountain City over the weekend, and now you're leaving tomorrow."

"I know," Ty Lee sighs. She has been struggling not to cry ever since she started packing up her side of the room almost two hours ago. "Who will you go with?"

"I don't know." Suki thinks for a moment. "Yani and Min are on duty. Kiko doesn't like to travel. Luan is meeting that boy from the city. Maybe I'll just stay here."

Ty Lee lays the paints she is gathering on the bed and turns to face her friend. "But you have to go. We've been looking forward to this for months. You have to go so you can tell me about it next… next time we see each other."

It occurs to Ty Lee that neither of them knows when that will be, and it must occur to Suki too, because a stifling gravity descends over the room, a heavy, heavy silence.

"Well, I'm not going all the way to Fire Fountain City by myself," the captain finally replies. "What fun would that be?"

"I know!" Ty Lee exclaims much louder than she intends to. Suki jumps. "Why don't you go with Mai?"

"Umm," her friend grimaces, "You know, Ty, I don't think that's a good idea. Our personalities are just so different, and I just think—"

"That's ridiculous," Ty Lee proclaims. "Mai's really nice once you get to know her."

Suki raises an eyebrow. "And exactly how long does it take to get to know her?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "It took me about three years."

Suki rolls her eyes. "See, I don't have quite that long."

"Still, you're friends with me," Ty Lee answers like this should settle it. "That should be good enough for her. Besides," she breathes a sad little sigh, "Her best friend is leaving too. You'll both need someone. It's perfect!"

"Ty Lee…" Suki hesitates, and though Ty Lee has once again turned her back on her companion to continue packing, the acrobat can hear her taking deep breaths. "Do you really think we _will_ see each other again?"

"Of course we will," Ty Lee replies, though, if she is being honest, the confidence in her voice is as much to convince herself as her friend. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, for one thing, Zuko might not ever get things straightened out with the Earth King," Suki reasons. "Azula might have to stay in hiding forever. Or… or you could get caught." She tacks it onto the end like an afterthought, but they both know what will happen if Ty Lee is captured with Azula in the Earth Kingdom. Ty Lee could spend the rest of her life in that awful prison under the lake that Zuko told her and Mai about, or, worst case scenario, she could end up on the streets being stoned alongside the Princess. Really, it would all depend on Kuei's generosity, and Ty Lee is willing to bet that as soon as the news that Azula is missing has gone public, he will not be feeling particularly merciful.

"We won't get caught," she waves her hand in an attempt to look much less worried than she actually feels. "Azula has only been caught one time before, and that was on purpose."

She reaches for a string of beads peeking out from beneath the mess of blankets on her bed, but there are hands grabbing her shoulders, spinning her around, and then Suki is hugging her so tightly she can't breathe.

"Please just be careful," she whispers, and Ty Lee can feel moisture against the side of her neck.

"I will," she promises, lifting her arms to rest on her friend's back, even though she knows that will not be enough.

* * *

Zuko does not pace tonight. For that, Mai is grateful. It has been days since she has had a solid seven hours of sleep. He stares at the bedside table, where the papers that she knows contain Azula and Ty Lee's new identities lay, trapped beneath the Fire Crown.

Tomorrow is a big day for the five people who know, but for everyone else in the Fire Nation, it will just be another early autumn morning.

"I'm worried about them too, you know," she comments. Zuko looks over to where she is lying on the other side of the bed, his brow furrowed. "They're my best friends."

Zuko covers his faces with his hand "Right now, I just don't want to think about it."

"Then maybe you should stop having a staring contest with their travel papers," she suggests, scooting toward the center of the bed until she is close enough to wrap her arms around his bicep and plant her chin on his shoulder.

He groans. "I still can't believe this is happening."

"Things happen, Zuko," she reminds him gently. "Life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. You of all people should know that? Do you have everything you want?"

She feels him shrug. "Almost."

"That's not a yes," she points out.

"If my sister was healthy," he replies. "And maybe a little bit nicer, then I would."

She reaches up to pat his chest. "Well, that's very sweet of you, Zuko, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that one."

Zuko chuckles and turns her head toward her. "When was the last time you went home, Mai?"

She shrugs. "Right before we left for the Ember Islands," she answers. "Why? Do you want me to leave?"

"No," he replies quickly. "I just… wondered." He runs a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he has developed since he started growing it out. "It feels like you live here sometimes."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No." He shakes his head against the pillow. "I like having you around."

"I feel useful here," she explains. "I mean, what would I do at home, anyway? Learn to embroider? Help my mother watch Tom-Tom?" The mood at her house has been decidedly bleak since her father was arrested, and she found quickly that being somber all the time is not nearly as much fun when everyone else is doing it too.

"Do you ever think it would be easier if we just got married?"

Mai sighs. The subject comes up every so often. It is an inevitability. They both know it. Zuko will have to produce heirs. Legitimate heirs. But they put it off every time because they are too young, or there is too much going on with Republic City, or they only got back together a year ago. "What's the point? We practically are anyway."

"But we wouldn't have to hide it," Zuko reasons, and Mai thinks of the empty palanquin that is carried from the palace to her house and back every night and every morning so that casual watchers will believe that she sleeps at home. "And you would be the Fire Lady."

"Why would I need to be the Fire Lady?" she asks, smirking and raising an eyebrow. "We both know you do whatever I say. I'm basically the Fire _Lord_ already."

"Only because what you say is usually right," Zuko argues, but Mai does not think it helps his point.

"Where's all this coming from all of a sudden?"

Zuko sighs and looks away. "I was thinking last night, we're sending Azula away, so I'll be the last heir to the throne." He looks back over at her. "If something happens to me, the royal bloodline will end. There will be no one to succeed me. The entire nation could fall into chaos." He is hesitating, biting his lip. It worries her. "If we were married, and I died while Azula was in hiding, the throne would pass to you."

She is completely lost for words. The only thing she can force out of her mouth in response is a harsh "Zuko…"

He rolls toward her so that they are facing each other, places his palm on her cheek, runs his fingers through her hair. "I want it to be you," he adds. "If something happens to me, I want you to become the Fire Lord." He smiles sadly, and she thinks her heart might be breaking. "You said it already. You practically are anyway."

"I'm honored." And then the implications of his words sink in, and her eyes widen, and she can feel her breath speeding up. "Did… did you just propose to me?"

He laughs, and when he looks back at her, his smile is no longer sad. "Yeah, I guess I did."

She can feel the color rising to her cheeks, and all she can think is that when she was being shaken awake by Ty Lee this morning, this is certainly not how she expected the day to end. "That does make sense," she replies slowly. "For the good of the Fire Nation, of course."

"For the good of the Fire Nation," he repeats with a nod. His voice is solemn, but there is a glint in his eye that Mai has not seen since this whole business with Kuei began.

"Then it's settled," she decides. "We really don't have a choice in the matter." She sighs and rolls onto her back, pressing her hand to her forehead. "We'll have to make a public announcement, of course."

"And we'll have to make up a different story," Zuko adds. "We can't tell people I asked you in bed."

"As romantic as it was," she comments with a roll of her eyes.

"So…" he runs his hand back through his hair. "Did we just get engaged?"

"Yeah, I guess we did."

She does not quite know how she feels about this development. She is suddenly very stressed and annoyed, and the entire situation has completely caught her off guard, but she also thinks she might be… happy? Just a little bit? Which makes no sense at all, because she and Zuko have never really wanted to get married. Normally she would talk through all of this with Ty Lee over lunch tomorrow, but, she realizes with a horrible sinking in her stomach, Ty Lee will be on a ship to the Earth Kingdom by then.


	4. Fate Is Escapable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, guys, I completely forgot to update on Wednesday. I apologize.
> 
> Also, **warning** for implications of sexual abuse. They are kind of vague in this chapter, but they will become more obvious as the story goes on, and from here on out, they will be unmarked.

It is still dark in the Fire Nation when Ty Lee and Suki arrive at the docks. Suki is gripping Ty Lee's arm, fingers digging into the skin over her bicep, and she does not seem to want to let go, like if Suki holds on tight enough, she can keep her here.

Zuko and Mai are already waiting, and standing with impeccable posture between them, gazing with wide eyes across the bay toward the Gates of Azulon, is Azula. Ty Lee can see dirt lining the hems of their robes, and she realizes that they must have walked all the way across town, just as she and Suki did, because the palanquins would be much too conspicuous. No one is to know what is happening, after all.

"Are you ready?" Zuko asks as they approach. His eyes flit to the sack that is slung over her shoulder and she expects him to ask if she has all of her things. She does not own very much. Her time with the circus has made her a light packer, and whenever she goes somewhere new, she inevitably ends up leaving half of her belongings behind.

She gives him a tight nod and tries to smile. He attempts to return it, but she thinks they probably both just look like they are trying not to throw up.

"I need to talk to you about a couple of things before you leave." He jerks his head to his right and she follows him away from the group, wondering why they couldn't have done this yesterday in the palace instead of standing out in the open with Azula looking like she is thinking about making a run for it. He holds a stack of papers out for her to take. "Those will get you into Ba Sing Se. I looked through them last night. They say you're cousins from a village in the United Republic."

"Where did you get these?" Ty Lee asks. She must sound stupid—Zuko is the Fire Lord, and he can probably get pretty much anything if he asks the right people—but she has always gotten the impression that travel into Ba Sing Se is extremely difficult without legitimate papers.

"Let's just say I owe the Avatar another favor," he answers quickly. "Anyway, Aang says you should play up your loyalty to the Earth Kingdom. Maybe tell the guards at the wall you're fleeing because you want to live under your rightful king or not alongside Fire Nation citizens or something like that. If you have the opportunity to throw in a bad word about me, I'm sure that wouldn't hurt, either."

"But Zuko," Ty Lee argues. "You're my friend. I can't just go… making up lies about you. What if they spread?"

"Then that's the price I'll pay for my sister's life," he answers resolutely. He has always had a bit of a flare for the dramatic. She will miss that about him. "Remember, this is for Azula."

Ty Lee gives the Princess an appraising, sidelong look. "Okay," she finally sighs. "But when we get back, I'm going to apologize to you for every mean thing I had to say."

He smiles down at her, half amused, half concerned. "I'll look forward to it." And then he is all business again. "My uncle is in the city, but you should only go to him in the case of an emergency. Once Kuei realizes Azula is missing, I'm sure he'll have my uncle's tea shop watched." He follows her gaze to his sister and tugs at his collar. "Look, there's something else I should probably tell you. It's about her condition."

"You mean why she keeps talking about someone trying to get her?" Ty Lee gasps.

"No, not exactly," Zuko replies. "It's about her firebending."

She sighs. "I know. It's gone."

"But I know why."

"What?" Ty Lee can feel her eyes growing wide as she lifts her head so that their eyes meet.

He shrugs. "The same thing happened to me after I left the Fire Nation on the Day of the Black Sun." He lowers his voice. "It was because I'd lost my drive to bend. Firebenders motivate themselves with rage. That's how Azula and I were taught. When I let go of everything I thought I wanted, I couldn't bend anymore."

"But you can bend now," Ty Lee points out.

"Yeah, I had find another motivation," he explains. "And I had to go see the firebending masters."

"The firebending masters?"

"Yeah, umm," he glances back at Azula before continuing. "They live on an island north of the Boiling Rock, near the Western Air Temple, or, at least, what's left of it. Listen," he leans toward her. "Promise me you won't take Azula there. She can't go like this. The Sun Warriors… well they didn't exactly tell Aang and me what happened if the masters didn't find you worthy, but it was implied to have been extremely unpleasant."

"Why did you even tell me then?" Ty Lee folds her arms across her chest.

"I just thought you should know," he answers with another shrug. "Just in case."

"Zuko, the sun is starting to come up," Mai calls. She is gripping Azula's hand tightly, like she is afraid the Princess will try to run away. Maybe she is.

"Well," Zuko says, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Good luck. Take care of my sister for me."

"I will," she promises. She turns and leaps at Suki, enveloping her in a hug.

"Goodbye," her captain whispers, and her voice is rough, like she is doing everything she can not to cry.

"We'll see each other again. I promise." She gives Suki a final squeeze before pulling away and turning to Mai, who takes her by surprise by transferring Azula's hand to Zuko and actually spreading her arms.

"I thought you didn't like hugs," Ty Lee comments, but she pounces on her friend, wrapping her arms around Mai's slender body and squeezing tighter than she ever has before.

"Just this once," Mai replies. "So I hope you have a good memory." She sighs and Ty Lee can feel her friend's breath tickle her hair. This moment would be so much sweeter if Ty Lee did not know that the only reason Mai is doing this because she is afraid that the next time she sees Ty Lee, it will be at the gallows in Ba Sing Se. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more."

Mai drops her arms and takes a step back. Her face is impassive as always, accept that her eyebrows seem pinched together.

"Mai, I need you to do something for me."

"Why am I already getting a bad feeling about this?"

Ty Lee steps toward her again and lowers her voice. "Will you ask Suki to go to the street fair in Fire Fountain City with you this weekend?"

"Excuse me?" Mai's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Well, we were supposed to go together but now that I'm leaving… please, Mai?" she begs. "You both need a friend, and you'll like each other. I promise." She juts her lips out and tries to make her eyes as sad as possible.

"Fine," Mai grumbles. "But only because I still owe you for saving me at the Boiling Rock."

Someone loudly clears their throat and when Ty Lee looks over, Azula is glaring at them. "If you're finished crying all over each other, I'd rather not miss my ship."

Zuko nods swiftly, but then he is wrapping his sister in his arms.

"Unhand me!" Ty Lee hears her command against his shoulder, her voice muffled by his robes. It would be comical, Ty Lee thinks, under different circumstances.

Reluctantly, the Fire Lord drops his arms. "Try to stay out of trouble," he tells her, and his voice cracks on the last word.

"Zuzu, your weakness is showing," Azula replies as Ty Lee takes her hand and begins to pull her up the ramp onto the ship. She does not look back at Mai and Suki and Zuko. If she starts crying, she will not be able to stop.

* * *

The emptiness of the ship is eerie. Ty Lee knew they would be going aboard before the sailors arrived back after their leave so that Azula could arrive unseen by anyone except for the captain, but she had not expected it to be this eerie. They can hear creaks and groans as they make their way through the hull to their cabin.

"We're sharing a room?" Azula asks sharply as Ty Lee drops her bag on one of the beds. Their quarters are small with four bunks built into the walls, a samll table screwed into the floor with an oil lamp sitting atop it, and not enough space for much else.

"Of course," she replies, dropping down beside her bag. "No one knows you're on board. Why would I need two rooms to myself?" Azula groans and crawls into the bunk opposite her. "Besides, you'll have to get used to it," Ty Lee adds. "Our apartment in Ba Sing Se will probably only be one room."

"Why don't you do us both a favor and just turn me over to the Earth King once we get there?" Azula complains. "What am I supposed to do all day? Lay here?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "I don't know. What did you do all day in the asylum?"

"Plot the mysterious deaths of the nurses mostly," Azula mutters and Ty Lee laughs.

"Well, I would appreciate if you didn't do that to me."

Azula sighs loudly, dramatically, and falls onto her back on the mattress. "How long is this voyage?"

"A week," Ty Lee answers as she reaches into her sack. "So you might as well get comfortable." Her fingers brush the string of beads and she fishes it out and drapes it over the base of the oil lamp. "Seriously, Azula." She glances at her roommate while thrusting her hand back into the sack. "You might not have a bed again for a while."

"Excuse me?" The Princess sits back up abruptly and her head collides with the bunk above her with a dull clang. "What will we sleep on if not beds?"

"Bed rolls," Ty Lee chirps as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "Beds are luxuries, Azula. Like bath tubs. They don't have them in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se."

"We won't have bath tubs either?" Azula's voice is close to panicked now, and it is all Ty Lee can do not to laugh. "How… how will we bathe?"

"Out of a bucket, of course," she answers, turning her head to conceal her wide smile. "It's not so bad. I did it all the time in the circus."

"Ughh," Azula lies back down and buries her face in the pillow. "I feel like a peasant."

"I think that's kind of the point," Ty Lee points out as she pulls out a folded pink quilt and spreads it over top of the stiff, grey sheets. The cabin… almost looks like she could live there. "Don't worry," she adds. "I'll keep you company. I won't let you waste away in here by yourself."

"How very charitable of you," Azula mutters.

"I like to think so." The acrobat reaches into the sack once more and pulls out a mobile hung with colorful cloth flowers. She twists the wire around the rungs of the bunk above her and lies back against her own pillow to admire it.

After a few moments, she grows bored and her gaze shifts to her roommate. Azula lies curled in a loose ball under the sheets, facing toward the wall. Her entire half of the tiny room is grey. Ty Lee can feel her aura fading just looking at it. She sits up and pulls the sack up onto the bed to sift through it. Her fingers close around a soft piece of fabric and she pulls it free. It is a large, woven wall hanging she obtained during her brief stay on Kyoshi Island, before the Warriors were called back to the Fire Nation. It is embroidered with flowers and hummingbirds, and she thinks she can smell the cool breeze off the sea just by looking at it.

She drops her legs over the side of the mattress and crosses the room in only two steps. Then she throws the piece of material over the top of Azula's bed.

"What are you doing?" Azula mutters, her voice soft from fatigue.

"Brightening up the room," she replies simply. "That's one of my favorite things. Be careful with it."

* * *

"What is this?" Azula eyes the concoction of the plate Ty Lee is holding out for her with suspicion.

"Dinner," Ty Lee answers cheerfully, shaking the plate in front of her. "Here, take it."

Azula wrinkles her nose. " _That_ is not food. Are you sure it's even eatable?"

"Uh huh," she nods her head enthusiastically. "I tried it out. Come on. Take a bite. This is all we're going to have for the next week anyway."

"Perhaps I'll just starve." But she takes the plate from Ty Lee and gingerly picks something brown and flakey off of it.

"Those ones are kind of salty," Ty Lee describes as she watches Azula hold it to her nose and sniff. "And the green ones are bitter, and the orange ones are spicy. You'll like those. You always liked spicy food."

They are sitting on the floor of their tiny cabin with one plate between the two of them, because Ty Lee is supposed to be staying in here alone, and Azula will not eat. She should have expected this, she realizes. She has seen how thin Azula is, and she knows she was fed three times a day in the asylum. Ty Lee had expected watching over Azula to at least be exciting. She imagined chasing her all over the ship, she imagined heated arguments. She did not imagine feeling like she is babysitting a four year old. Then again, it has only been one day.

Finally, the Princess places the food on her tongue and swallows, a look on her face like she'd just had something particularly pungent held under her nose. "Disgusting."

"Try it with the rice," Ty Lee suggests, poking at the small, white heap with her chopsticks. "You have to eat, Azula. The food won't get _that_ much better in Ba Sing Se. I'm a horrible cook."

"Of course you are," Azula sneers. "You were raised with servants. Maybe I should have brought that earth peasant instead. At least she's used to living in squalor."

"But won't it be fun to see how the other side lives?" she prods. "It'll be a whole new experience!"

"I lived in an asylum for three years, Ty Lee," Azula reminds her. "How much other side can you get?"

"You still had someone to clean up after you," Ty Lee answers. "And someone to prepare your meals for you, and someone to wash your hair for you."

"I had to make my own bed," Azula complains.

Ty Lee raises an eyebrow, because that is such a ridiculous, and yet such an incredibly _Azula_ argument to make. "You had a bed."

Azula scoops up a pile of rice and some of the sticky orange things. "If you're trying to make me feel better about this arrangement, you're going about it all wrong."

"I'm not trying to make you feel better," Ty Lee replies. "I'm trying to prepare you for—what? Are you okay?"

Azula faces suddenly very red and her eyes are watering. She swallows heavily and then opens her mouth wide to breathe. "Too spicy," she chokes.

Ty Lee picks up one of the orange things and places it on her tongue experimentally. "It's… not that hot, Azula. We used to have meals much spicier at the palace."

"I guess I'm just not used to it anymore," Azula murmurs.

* * *

Ty Lee is awoken in the middle of the night by a long, pained groan.

"Azula?" she murmurs sleepily, rolling over and rubbing her eyes.

"Ty Lee." The voice is small, forced. Ty Lee is on her feet immediately.

"Azula, what's wrong?"

"I think…" A pause. Heavy breathing. "I think I might be sick."

Azula rolls over, and her face is as white as when she was wearing the Kyoshi Warrior makeup. Her fists are clenched in the sheets, shaking. She makes a muted gagging sound, and her shoulders heave.

"We have to get you out of here," Ty Lee decides, because she does not want the room they have to live in for six more days to smell like vomit, nor does she know where she would hide Azula while she called someone in to clean up the mess. "Come on." She tugs the Princess' arm over her shoulders and pulls them to their feet. She wrenches open the door to the room and drags them up the narrow stairway toward the deck.

"What if… someone sees?" Azula asks weakly between pants.

"Don't worry," Ty Lee assures her. "I know a spot where you can't be seen from the watch towers."

"How…?"

"Well, back on your ship, on the way back from the Earth Kingdom, I used to go there with one of the sailors and—"

"Stop," Azula gags, raising a shaking hand. "I'm sorry I asked."

Ty Lee rolls her eyes. –and watch the sunrise, she was going to say. When he was supposed to be on duty. But she will let Azula think what she wants to think. It is not as if Ty Lee is inexperienced, after all. There is no harm in adding another notch to her figurative belt. Besides, the sailor had been well-built, handsome, interesting to talk to. If he hadn't had a fiancée waiting for him back in Shu Jing, Azula's inference would probably be right.

The night air is cool and smells of salt. Ty Lee has always loved traveling by ship, but she does not have time to enjoy the sound of the waves against the hull or the faint creaking as they make their way across the deck. She rushes Azula to the side of the boat and forces her head out over the water. The Princess' hair hangs limply around her face, and Ty Lee gathers it up and twists it together. "I thought you'd been on lots of ships before," she comments as she begins to rub her friend's back.

Azula closes her eyes and shakes her head. Her face seems even paler now than it did before, if that is even possible. "Only twice. To and from the Earth Kingdom. I was sick both times."

"Well, you could have at least warned me," Ty Lee grumbles, but there is more kindness in her tone than annoyance.

And then Azula is heaving, her much too prominent shoulder blades convulsing under her thin robe. Ty Lee can hear a distant splash. "So no more of those orange things, huh?" she asks, masking a giggle, as she continues to move her hand in slow circles. Azula does not answer. She is gasping for breath, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. And then another gagging sound, another convulsion of her shoulder blades, another series of distant splashes.

"I didn't know you got seasick on the way back from the Earth Kingdom." It is an obvious statement, she knows. She was on the deck of that ship constantly. If Azula kept it from her, it was certainly by design, but after all those years of thinking her friend was the perfect Princess, greater than a human, every chink in her quickly deteriorating armor comes as a shock.

She expects some sort of scathing remark. She expects Azula to ask if Ty Lee thought she'd told her everything, if she really thought she had the right to know something so personal. That is what fourteen-year-old Azula would have done. Seventeen-year-old Azula simply replies, "No one did."

Ty Lee pictures Azula hunched over the railing by herself, hair whipping freely around her face. She would have been much more concerned with keeping her armor clean. She was always so uptight about that armor.

When she does not reply, Azula speaks again. "It's freezing out here."

"Are you ready to go back inside?" Ty Lee asks, even though the Princess has not regained any of her color.

"No," is her friend's reluctant answer.

She tries again. "Do you want me to go get you a blanket?"

"Yes."

So Ty Lee practically leaps back down the stairs and sprints to their quarters, where she pulls the quilt off her bed. Azula is crumpled against the railing by the time she returns, and she immediately gives herself a mental kick for not bringing anything to wipe her face.

As if she can read minds, Azula wipes at the residue crusting her mouth. "This must be an exciting night for you," she mutters.

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asks as she drapes the quilt around Azula's narrow shoulders and drops to the deck beside her, her arm once again taking up residence on her friend's back.

Azula pulls the quilt tighter around herself. "The Fire Nation's infamous Princess," she replies. "At her very worst. Right in front of you. Does it make you think he was right about me, after all?"

Ty Lee grimaces and ignores the reference to the ever-mysterious _he_. Azula does look rather pitiful, shivering against the metal off the ship, her eyes drooping closed, but Ty Lee remembers nights at the asylum, watching the orderlies hold Azula down as she sobbed and screamed until her voice was gone. She remembers before Azula lost her bending, when the restraints were a necessity for the safety of everyone involved, even though Azula sometimes rubbed her skin raw against them. She remembers a morning not long before she left for the circus, when she and Mai had waited over an hour for Azula to open the door to her room, and when she finally had, there were damp trails down her cheeks, bruises speckling her shoulders, and hastily concealed stains on her sheets.

As she traces her hand along Azula's spine and watches the Princess lean back though the railing to wretch again into the sea, she murmurs. "I don't think you're at your worst."

The night passes in silence, and when the sun begins to peak over the horizon, Ty Lee half carries her companion back down into their room and deposits her gently on the bed. "Try to sleep," she advises. "I'll go find you a bucket or something."

"I never sleep," Azula mutters, but she is out before Ty Lee has even closed the door behind her.

* * *

For the remainder of the voyage, Ty Lee and Azula do not keep a regular sleep schedule. They go to the deck in the dead of night and Azula hangs through the railing, vomiting up everything she has eaten that day, while Ty Lee rubs her back and tries to keep a conversation going. It is always relatively one-sided. Then, as the sun comes up, Ty Lee gathers Azula and takes her back down to her bunk, where she continues to hang over the side of her mattress, balancing herself over the top of the battered, tin bucket Ty Lee stole from the mess hall, where it was holding mop water, until she passes out from fatigue. Ty Lee vows to never take her on a ship again.

She does not remember the voyage from the Earth Kingdom being like this. She remembers not seeing very much of the Princess, hence why she felt the need to befriend and watch the sunrise with sailors, but she'd assumed Azula was just dutifully preparing to return to the palace. Now she understands why they always took airships when they were not travelling very far.

On the last night of the voyage, Ty Lee entertains herself with a stained deck of cards she found lying deep under her bunk on the third day. The back of each card bears a faded picture of two interlocking dragons. She thinks she will take them with her when they disembark tomorrow morning. Azula sits curled up beside her, her forehead propped against the railing on the deck, shivering and panting.

"What do you think you'll do when we get to Ba Sing Se?" Azula asks.

Ty Lee is surprised, because conversing with Azula during these nights on the deck has been like pulling teeth. She lays a card down on one of the piles in front of her, a four on a five, and looks up at her companion. "What do you mean?"

"Surely we'll need money," Azula explains. "How do you plan to get it?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "Probably get a job. Maybe you will too."

Azula laughs bitterly, but she is cut off by a groan and she thrusts her head between the rails. "Surely, you're not serious. I can't work." _Can't_ , Ty Lee notices. Not _won't_.

"I'm sure there's something you can do," Ty Lee replies.

"Like what? I've lost my only skill. I might as well not even be here. I know you think so. Even he thinks so." Her voice is becoming steadily shriller, and Ty Lee wonders how this conversation could have gone south so quickly.

Azula turns away for a moment to dry heave, and when she faces Ty Lee again, her eyes are wide and furious. "He wants me to just accept my fate and throw myself over the side of the ship! Do _you_ want that, Ty Lee? It would certainly make your life easier."

"Of course not, Azula," Ty Lee hurries to answer. She looks around nervously, but the deck is still empty from what she can see.

"Why not?" Azula demands. "I'm just a burden on my more talented friends! I'm worse than Zuko!" Ty Lee has never met Fire Lord Ozai, but she has heard his daughter repeat him verbatim enough times throughout their lives to realize that this sounds exactly like something he would say.

"Azula, you have to keep it down," she pleads. "Someone will hear you."

The words seem to go right over the Princess' head. She is getting worked up, and Ty Lee braces herself for what is coming. "He sent those men to kill me! I don't care what Zuko says! I know he did! You're deadly, Ty Lee! Did he send you to kill me too? Are you luring me to my death?"

"Did who send me to kill you?" Ty Lee asks desperately. "I would never do that, Azula—"

"My father!"

The suspicions that she has had for months now have been confirmed. It makes sense. She knows from Zuko that the first two years after the war were filled with hallucinations of Ursa. It seems logical that, with that issue resolved, her mind would fixate on the other person who made her feel inadequate, the person who pretended to care about her, only to pull the rug out from under her when she was at her most unstable.

"Azula," she answers hesitantly. "Your father is dead."

"No, he's not!" her companion insists. "He's out there! He's coming for me!"

Ty Lee shakes her head vigorously. "He died in prison last year. He stopped eating."

"Did you really think the mighty Phoenix King, divine ruler of the entire world, could be killed by something as mundane as starvation? It was a ruse! He won't rest until I am no longer alive to dishonor the Fire Nation! He told me himself!"

"Azula, stop!"

She lunges forward and clutches Azula's head to her chest, the way she has seen Zuko do. Zuko was always the only person who was ever able to calm her. Azula lets out a scream that reverberates through her body and beats her fists against Ty Lee's stomach and sides, but three years in the asylum have weakened her considerably. Ty Lee only holds her tighter. She can handle bruises. Azula will calm down eventually. She always calms down eventually. Ty Lee only hopes it will be before she wakes the entire ship.

"He's coming for me," she is muttering, her voice muffled by Ty Lee's chest. "He's coming for me. He'll find me. He won't fail. He never fails."

Her breath is coming in gasps, and she dives for the side of the ship and vomits into the ocean once more. Her fit of rage seems to snap like a twig as she hangs through the railing, staring into the water below her. Ty Lee can hear her breath slow.

"Azula, do you see that?" She murmurs after a few moments of silence. The sun is just beginning to peak over the horizon, but for once, it does not seem endless. It looks near and it has ridges, not like the smooth surface of the water. It looks like mountains.

"What?" Azula snaps. She still looks angry, but now she also looks tired, and Ty Lee thinks it might be best if she gets the Princess to bed as soon as possible.

"Land."

Azula lifts her head feebly, but her eyes widen at the approaching shoreline.

"We should go back downstairs," Ty Lee adds. "If we're close to port, the sailors will be up soon."

Azula allows Ty Lee to lead her back to their room, where Ty Lee drops her onto the bed and pulls the sheets over her. She tucks the Princess' hair behind her ear in a gesture that she knows Azula would never allow if she wasn't tired and seasick. "Get some sleep," she murmurs. "We're going to have to try to find a ride to Full Moon Bay, but I don't know how long that's going to take. We might have to walk a while."

"Miles of walking will almost be welcome after this nightmare," Azula grumbles. Ty Lee does not respond. It is the most optimistic thing she has heard Azula say about this entire trip, and she does not want to ruin it. Instead, she sets to work repacking her belongings. She takes down the cloth mobile, gathers the string of beads from around the oil lamp, and folds up the quilt. When she is confident that Azula is sleeping deeply enough, she pulls the wall hanging off of her companion's bed. She scans the room one last time and drops the deck of cards into her sack as well. She likes to collect souvenirs from her travels, and, for better or for worse, this has been a very memorable week.

They have to wait to disembark until the sailors are gone, but when they finally step off the ramp onto the docks, Ty Lee nearly expects Azula to drop to her knees and kiss the earth, like she used to see some of the Navy men do when she went to meet her father at port as a child. Instead, she crosses her arms and stares at her friend.

"Well?" she barks. "Now what? How do you propose we find a ride to Ba Sing Se in this hovel?"

_Hovel_ is not exactly the right term. The fishing village they appear to be in is a little run down, not at all what Azula is used to seeing in the Fire Nation, except for the docks, which look new, and Ty Lee expects were installed during the occupation, but Ty Lee has spent a lot more time in the Earth Kingdom than her companion, and she thinks the town appears to be doing relatively well. "We're at a port," she replies with a shrug. "I'm sure there must be someone going that direction from here."

Azula raises an eyebrow in a way that tells Ty Lee she does not believe her at all. "Don't worry," she adds to reassure the Princess. "This is an adventure. Half the fun is making it up as you go."


	5. Fate Is Ever-Changing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, guys, I apparently suck at this twice a week thing,

Finding transportation to Full Moon Bay is no more difficult than Ty Lee thought it would be. She asks around the fishery and before she knows it, a small, round, middle-aged man and his two teenaged children are offering her a ride.

The man introduces himself as Goji and his children as Wei and Kali. Wei towers over everyone else in the group and has a physique like he has been doing hard labor since he was about eight, which, Ty Lee realizes, he probably has. Kali is smaller, with shiny, brown hair almost as long as Ty Lee's that she wears free and a defined musculature in her arms. They are both rather enamoring, she decides.

Goji and Wei sit on the front of the wagon, while Ty Lee and Azula climb with Kali into the back, among boxes and boxes of fish.

"Hold tight," Goji says as he tugs on the rains and the mongoose lizard begins to move. "We go fast. Got to get this cargo to Ba Sing Se before it goes bad."

Azula is thrown off balance as the cart lurches forward. She growls at Kali when she laughs. "So where are you girls from," she asks as Azula grumpily situates herself against one of the boxes.

"Yu Dao," Ty Lee answers slowly. She wrinkles her nose in mock disgust. "They call it Republic City now." It is strange to have to lie with such certainty. When they were hunting Zuko and the Avatar, Azula did all the lying for them.

Kali furrows her brow. "Then why did you take a ship?" she asks. "Why not just travel to Ba Sing Se on land?"

"Maybe because of the mountain range and the huge canyon in the middle," Azula snaps, and Ty Lee is briefly impressed with her recall of Earth Nation geography until she remembers the dozens of war meetings the Princess sat in on between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

Ty Lee shoots her a reproachful look before turning back to Kali. "This way's faster."

"Oh," Kali replies, and she seems satisfied. "Okay."

"So how often do you get to go into Ba Sing Se?" Ty Lee asks, trying to keep the conversation going. After a week of spending most of her time locked in a room with Azula, she has had enough silence.

Kali shrugs. "About every two weeks."

"Wow," Ty Lee gasps. "That must be so exciting." It is difficult pretending like she has never seen the city, like the prospect of being there overwhelms her, when she once helped run a drill through its wall, and practically grew up in the Royal Palace in the Fire Nation, anyway.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Kali answers, but then she grimaces. "But I'm sure you'll be very happy there," she adds quickly. "So why did you decide to leave?" she asks after she has recovered. "I hear the city's more successful now than it's ever been."

"It's also not part of the Earth Kingdom anymore," Ty Lee replies, forcing her lips into a deep frown. "We've been waiting to be reunited for a hundred years. We're loyal to the Earth King." Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Azula wince.

"That's what I like to hear!" Goji calls from his seat at the front of the cart. "See, I told you kids. Good, loyal Earth Nation citizens don't want nothing to do with them Fire Nation monsters."

At her sides, Azula's hands clench into fists. Ty Lee places her hand over top one of the Princess' until she feels her relax.

"All the benders in my father's village were massacred by the Fire Nation when he was a boy, including his brother," Kali explains quietly, her soft, green eyes filled with concern, and Ty Lee does not have to fake the sympathy that she feels. Azula sets her jaw and looks in the other direction.

They ride in silence for a while, save for several surprised squeaks from Ty Lee and growls of frustration from Azula when they go over particularly large bumps, and then Kali speaks again. "I'm sorry, what did you say your names were?"

"Ty Lee," the acrobat answers immediately, for once grateful that her name is ambiguous enough to pass for Earth Kingdom and nondescript enough not to draw particular attention to itself. "And this is Sima." Azula's name, of course, had to be changed.

_"Nothing screams Fire Nation royal family louder than the name, Azula," Zuko had explained._

"Sima doesn't talk much," Kali comments, shifting her gaze to Ty Lee's companion.

"I just don't like to waste my breath on peasants," Azula sneers.

"Sima!" Ty Lee exclaims, slapping her companion reproachfully on the shoulder. "That's so rude! We are these people's guests!" She turns back to Kali. "I'm sorry, she's just a little on edge. She wasn't as… sure about leaving home as I was. And she got seasick on the ship." She shoots the other girl an apologetic look, that immediately falls off of her face when she looks back to Azula. If the Princess still had her bending, Ty Lee would be a pile of ash for sure.

"That's okay." Kali smiles and reaches over to place a hand on Azula's knee, looking only slightly disheartened when she pulls away. "It's hard to leave everything you know behind."

"How would you know anything about that?" Azula hisses, and Ty Lee is surprised to hear the question cross her lips, but Kali does not seem put off in the slightest.

"My brother and I weren't born in this town," she answers. "We grew up in a town up the river, Gaipan Village. It was completely destroyed when I was twelve. The dam blew out. They said it was a resistance group fighting the occupation. I just don't understand why they came after us." She shrugs, but Ty Lee notices that her eyes are glistening. "Anyway, we moved here. This place is really nice and everything. I just miss my home."

"Well, Fire Lord Zuko is helping the Earth King rebuild all the damage that's been done," she replies brightly. "Maybe you'll be able to go back someday."

Kali sends her a hesitant smile makes Ty Lee's heart race.

* * *

They camp in a clearing near a fork in the river that night. Goji and Wei sleep in the cart to ward off any potential thieves, and Azula, Ty Lee, and Kali sleep curled up under thin blankets on the ground near the remnants of the fire. The Earth Kingdom is colder than the Fire Nation. Ty Lee had not noticed that last time. Of course, last time, she'd been in the circus, sleeping curled up against a tamed platypus bear, and then crammed with Azula and Mai into a tent made for two.

Azula is lying to Ty Lee's left, facing out toward the forest. She is not asleep. Ty Lee can tell by the harsh rise and fall of her back. To her right, Kali has set up her blanket a little closer than necessary. From the cart, she can hear Wei and Goji's snores.

She feels a hand skim hers. She lies still, waiting to see if it was an accident, but the hand does not move away.

"Well, I can't sleep," she announces, sitting up. "I'm going to go take a _walk_. In the _forest_. Right over there."

She slides out from under the blanket and crosses the clearing into the forest without a sound. She is barely ten feet past the tree line when she hears a twig snap behind her. She'd hoped the girl would wait a little longer before following. It would have been less conspicuous that way.

She turns over her shoulder and Kali stops dead in her tracks. "I'm sorry," she squeaks. "I thought you wanted me to follow you. You sounded like you did."

"I hoped you would," Ty Lee whispers in answer, and Kali steps closer. "Only if you wanted to."

"I did."

"Good."

And then, before either of them has time to think, Ty Lee's lips are pressed to the younger girl's and the younger girl is pressed to the trunk of a tree. Ty Lee's head whirs. It has been so long since she kissed anyone, so long since she did anything with anyone. None of the status-obsessed teenagers in the Fire Nation's capital had wanted a seventh daughter of a mid-ranked noble, let alone, one who had betrayed the throne, spent time in the Boiling Rock, and then joined the Kyoshi Warriors. Not when they could be pursuing someone of a higher social standing. Not even when what Ty Lee wanted was not going to get in the way of that. Sex over the past few years has been far between.

They are both breathless when Ty Lee pulls away.

"What about Sima?" Kali asks between gasps.

"What about her?"

Kali tilts her head to the side. "She won't mind?"

"Oh," Ty Lee answers with a laugh. "No, of course not. She's my cousin."

"Oh." Kali drops her head back against the trunk of the tree. "I thought maybe…"

"Nope," Ty Lee answers with a wide grin. "I'm completely unattached."

"G-good," Kali stammers, suddenly nervous, and all Ty Lee can think is that it will be just her luck if this girl gets cold feet at the last minute. "I've, umm… I've never done anything like this before."

"That's okay," she answers brightly, and relief washes over the younger girl's face. "I have. I'll go first."

And then their lips are pressed together again, and Ty Lee's fingers skim down Kali's body, fumble for the hem of her dress, trail up her thigh.

* * *

If Ty Lee honestly thinks that Azula does not realize exactly what she is doing, she has to be ever stupider than Azula used to give her credit for when they were children, and that is saying something, because it had taken Azula years to come to the conclusion that her friend was not, in fact, as dumb as a post.

As she hears Ty Lee climb out of her makeshift sleeping bag and clamber through the trees and that _other_ girl, that _presumptuous_ girl, follow her, she seethes. She curls into herself, pulls her blanket as tightly around her as is possible, but she cannot block out the sound of bushes rustling and Ty Lee's distant giggling.

Who fornicates in a forest, anyway? What are they, fire ferrets?

This is exactly like Ba Sing Se, when Ty Lee would just slip away for an hour and Mai would smirk as Azula looked for her, and then Ty Lee would return, as if she had been there all along and Azula just hadn't been looking hard enough, and Azula would belittled her for being easy, too proud to admit that she wondered about the one thing Ty Lee did for others but did not do for her.

When they return, Ty Lee slips beneath her blanket, and Azula can tell she is trying to be as stealthy as possible.

"Did you have fun on your _walk?_ " Her voice is light, but there is something deadly underneath, and she is relieved that at least she still has that. It is how she used to speak to Long Feng and sometimes Zuko. When she rolls over, she can tell from the look on Ty Lee's face, something between surprise and embarrassment and horror, that she recognizes it.

"You're still awake?"

"Of course," she answers airily. "You're at your most vulnerable when you're asleep." _That's when you see things_. "That's why I've learned not to."

"Oh," Ty Lee replies, she studies the grass as the color rises to her cheeks. "Well… you should really try to get some sleep, _Sima_. We'll reach Full Moon Bay tomorrow. We'll have to take a ferry across."

Azula does not think there is anything that could make this moment worse.

"Don't worry!" Kali calls from Ty Lee's other side, and it takes all of Azula's willpower not to go over there right now and snap that girl's neck, or at the very least, scare some sense into her. "It's a short trip. Just one night."

"Did you hear that?" Ty Lee smiles. "It's only one night. You'll make it just fine."

"I don't need your patronization," Azula growls, folding her arms in defiance. "Or your _girlfriend's_. I know perfectly well I can make it."

"Good," Ty Lee answers with a quick nod of her head, and then she lies down and is asleep almost as soon as her head touches the pillow.

The peasant girl is also asleep, and Azula can pick her breath out from that of her friend. Even the sound of her breathe is undignified. She wonders why Ty Lee chose her. Why a peasant when she is in the midst of a Princess? She feels angry, at Kali certainly, but also at Ty Lee, but at the same time, she is not so angry at Ty Lee. And there is something else, almost like hurt, but that cannot possibly be it. Ty Lee has done nothing important enough to hurt Princess Azula, who once brought the Earth Kingdom to its knees in a single day. Still, it is a strange feeling that makes her stomach feel like it did when the fell from the airship back at the Western Air Temple. She does not think she has ever felt like this before.

Azula gets what she wants.

So she must not want it.

* * *

"Are you feeling okay?" Ty Lee asks for what she feels like is the hundredth time today. "You've been quiet all morning."

"Like I said," Azula replies, "I don't waste my breath on those who don't deserve it."

"Okay, are you upset about something?" Ty Lee squares her body and folds her arms across her chest, preparing for a fight.

Azula laughs. "Upset? Why would I be?"

"Look, I'm sorry we woke you up last night—"

"I was never asleep."

"—but I really think you might be overreacting just a little bit." She bites her lip. If Azula had her bending, she would be charcoal ten times over by now. Perhaps the Kyoshi Warriors have made her stronger. Perhaps it is the knowledge that she cannot be struck down by lightning just for saying the wrong thing. Ty Lee does not know.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble Ty Lee, but I have more important things to worry about than your late-night escapades." One corner of her mouth turns up into a grin. "Really, I could care less what you do or where you do it or… who you do it with."

Ty Lee thinks she falters on the last part, but then, Azula is not the puppet master she once was.

The cart turns a corner and the ferry way station appears on the horizon. Ty Lee's eyes widen. "Are you nervous about taking the ferry across the bay? Is that it?"

"Of course not," Azula answers. "I told you last night, I am perfectly aware that I'll be fine."

"Okay." Ty Lee does not believe her, and she thinks her voice reflects that, but Azula does not call her out on it. Azula used to love to insult her lack of prowess when it came to dishonesty. Maybe she has since realized that Ty Lee never really took it as an insult. Maybe she just doesn't care anymore.

Goji pulls the wagon to a stop and Azula climbs out without a backward look.

"Goodbye, Ty Lee," Kali calls as the acrobat stands up and dusts herself off. "Thanks for…" she hesitates as her cheeks flush. "Well, everything."

"I should say the same to you," she replies as Azula looks pointedly in the other direction. "All of you. Thank you for taking us this far. We'd barely be out of that village if you hadn't picked us up."

"Are you sure you didn't want to invite her to come with us?" Azula asks, her voice laced with venom, once the cart has pulled away. "The two of you seemed to get along so well."

Ty Lee tips her head to the side and studies her friend for a moment. Her eyes narrow. "Azula, are you angry about what happened with Kali last night?"

Azula crosses her arms. "I already said I wasn't."

"No, you said you weren't angry we woke you up." She furrows her brow. "Why do you care?"

"I just think it's beneath you," Azula answers. "Frolicking in the woods with some Earth Kingdom peasant. At least in Ba Sing Se they were nobles."

Ty Lee nods and accepts Azula's reasoning, even though she has always been under the impression that the nobles bothered the Princess too. They had been a distraction. They were the reason Ty Lee had not been at Azula's beck and call at every hour of the day. That had been Ty Lee's assumption. Kali does not make sense. Kali was fun. That is the extent of it. The only thing it had cost Ty Lee was sleep.

She shrugs off the question as they begin to walk. Perhaps Azula just cannot stand the idea of not being the first thing on Ty Lee's mind for half an hour.

* * *

The overnight ferry across the bay goes much smoother than Ty Lee ever could have hoped. The obvious difference is that this time, Azula is allowed to stay on the deck, where she can watch the horizon to keep her nausea at bay. They huddle under thin blankets and drink cold tea. Azula grimaces with every sip. She has never liked tea much, but that and a small bowl of noodles each are all they have until they arrive in the city.

"It almost makes you miss the food on the ship, doesn't it?" Ty Lee asks, sucking a noodle into her mouth.

Azula offers a noncommittal grunt and continues to stare through the railing. She has been strange all day, and Ty Lee is becoming very frustrated. They can see a mountain range in the distance, and she tells herself that by the time they reach it, Azula will be back to normal, or as normal as she has been in the past three years.

"I could warm this you know." Azula's voice is quiet, and when Ty Lee looks over, she is frowning at her bowl. "I have enough power left for _that_."

"No you don't," Ty Lee whispers forcefully. Her eyes dart around the deck. "You'll draw attention to us, _Sima_. What are the other passengers going to think when you're the only one with warm noodles?"

"That I'm not to be taken advantage of," Azula replies with a certain ferocity.

"Don't…" Ty Lee reaches over and snatches the bowl out of her companion's hands, "you even think about it. We did not spend a week on that ship just to be found out before we even get into the city."

"If we're going to be caught, don't you think it would be better to do it while we're still outside the walls?" Azula raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"Not if we're on a boat in the middle of a bay," Ty Lee argues. "Unless you've suddenly become a waterbender. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Azula snaps her head to face the acrobat so suddenly that she has to stop herself from recoiling. "There are a lot of things I'm not telling you, Ty Lee."

It sounds so much like something Azula would have said the last time they were in this city, when they had gotten distracted on their mission to find Zuko and decided to conquer the Earth Kingdom instead, except then it would have been said silkily, a voice so smooth Ty Lee would have slipped if she wasn't careful (and she was never careful, not in those days). Now Azula's voice is low. It sounds darkly significant. Cryptic even.

Ty Lee decides to shrug it off. "Okay then." She holds the bowl out. "Finish your dinner, but I'm holding the bowl."

"What's the matter, Ty Lee?" Azula asks. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course," Ty Lee replies, though she is somewhat unsure. She wraps the blanket more tightly around her body. It is still early autumn, but the Earth Kingdom is chillier than any winter she has experienced in the Fire Nation. Once upon a time, she was used to Earth Nation temperatures, but it has been years since she has not had comfortable indoor lodgings as a member of the Fire Lord's guard.

Beside her, Azula is shivering visibly as she raises her tea cup to her lips. Ty Lee inches closer to her until their shoulders and hips are touching.

"For warmth," she explains when Azula looks over at her in surprise. She wraps her arm around the Princess' back, even though, in doing so, she is exposing herself to the cold. "Tomorrow night we'll at least have a roof over our heads," she reminds her friend.

Azula merely reaches her chopsticks into the bowl in the acrobat's hand for another noodle.

Ty Lee yawns. "Tomorrow night, we'll be home."

* * *

They are asked for their papers once again as they leave the ferry for the monorail cars that will take them into the city.

"But, I thought you only checked at the station," Ty Lee comments as she rummages for the documents in her sack.

"We used to, ma'am," the guard replies. He is young, nervous. "Three and a half years ago, the Avatar and his friends went around the bay through the Serpent's Pass and snuck into the city that way." He smiles, though Ty Lee thinks it could look a little more genuine, instead of like he is forcing himself to laugh at a bad joke. "Of course, we were happy to have him, but it did tip us off towards a glaring hole in our security."

"Here they are," she chimes as she finally feels her fingers brush paper. Beside her, Azula is glaring at the guard. Perhaps that is why he looks so frightened. Even as a petite seventeen-year-old girl, essentially a nonbender, Azula still has a certain art for intimidation.

"Everything looks in order," he says as his eyes skim over the first page. "You can board the monorail now."

Ty Lee stuffs the papers back into her sack and grabs Azula's wrist. "Come on, before all the good seats are taken."

Of course, Ty Lee does not exactly know what "good seats" are in a monorail car, but, staring directly into the eyes of a small child with something that looks suspiciously like mud covering his face, she is pretty sure this not it. Ty Lee normally likes children, but this one is just so… dirty, and his gaze is so disconcerting. Beside her, the tip of her nose not a foot from the crotch of a middle-aged farmer with a long, tangled beard, Azula is fairing even worse.

"Don't worry, we're almost there," Ty Lee mutters. "Just think. Soon, we'll be in our very own house."

"If, by house, you mean room," Azula replies grudgingly.

"You'll grow to like it," Ty Lee promises. "You just need time to adjust."

"I hardly think that's true," Azula grumbles. The car lurches and she is nearly thrown into Ty Lee's lap. "I hate this city already," she mutters, righting herself. "It's disgusting, and we're not even through the walls yet."

"Ooh, look!" Ty Lee exclaims, pointing out through the window. "The farms go on forever." Her eyes widen. "And look there! I bet that's the zoo the Avatar set up. We should go."

"In case you're forgetting," Azula comments with a roll of her eyes. "We've been here before."

"I know," Ty Lee answers. "But we didn't actually do anything. All we did was, you know…" she leans her head so close to Azula's that they are nearly touching. "Conquer." She pulls away again. "We're going to have some actual fun this time. I'm making sure of it."

"Conquering is fun," Azula grumbles.

Ty Lee ignores her. "Oh, we can go to the Firelight Fountain! It's supposed to be beautiful at night. _Fire_ light. You'll like that. And in the Middle Ring, there's this shrine to all the Earth Avatars. I went there last time we were hear with a boy. He thought I was a Kyoshi Warrior, of course, so we had to spend _forever_ looking at all of Avatar Kyoshi's old stuff, but it was still pretty fun. Did you know she had _huge_ feet?"

Azula merely breathes a loud sigh and turns around so that she is facing the man again.

Ty Lee leans over to cover one of Azula's hands with her own. "We can have a good life here, you know?" she says. "You just have to let yourself enjoy it."

"When did you get so insightful," Azula snarls, pulling her hand away.

Ty Lee shrugs. "You know me. I just say what pops into my head."

Azula glances across her nose at her. "We both know you don't." Ty Lee hears the hidden accusation in that statement.

_We both know you're not as stupid as you pretend to be._

* * *

"Home sweet home!" Ty Lee cries as they cross the threshold. The door squeaks when they open and close it, and Ty Lee briefly registers that this means there will be no sneaking out for either of them.

The apartment is small, hardly larger than Azula's walk-in closet back at the palace, and it is above a tavern. Even in the middle of the day, they can hear men arguing. Ty Lee is certain it will escalate to physical violence by dinner.

"This is a joke."

Azula is not a foot inside the door, but she is standing there with her mouth open, and Ty Lee is losing her fight not to laugh.

"I think it's cozy," she replies, crossing the apartment to inspect the washroom. There is no door, she notices, thought there is a slider where a door used to be. There is no running water either, as Ty Lee expected, just a basin and a mirror.

"Where are these sleep rolls you were talking about?" Azula demands.

"We don't have them yet," Ty Lee explains. "We have to buy them."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"Well, we need money first," Ty Lee answers. "I'll have to get a job."

"You mean, the almighty Fire Lord couldn't even spare a few coins for his poor, sick sister?" She sounds bitter but oddly detached from the situation. Maybe it is resignation or—her stomach turns unpleasantly—defeat.

"Well, he couldn't give us Fire Nation currency, could he?" Ty Lee shrugs. "It will be fine. I'll get a job tomorrow. We'll have them in a couple days."

"And what do you propose I do until then?" Azula asks. "Sleep on the floor?"

"Well… yeah," Ty Lee answers. "Just like we did in the woods and on the boat. I still have that quilt.

"How reassuring," Azula mutters.

Ty Lee grabs the bottom corners of her sack and turns it upside down, shaking all of her things into a heap on the wood floor. "Do you want to help me decorate, Az—Sima?"

Azula turn around to face her. "You can call me by my name, Ty Lee. It's just us in here."

"Yeah, but, in case you haven't noticed, there's no glass in the window," Ty Lee explains. "I bet we can be heard from the street."

"Perfect," Azula mutters to herself as she approaches the pile of objects. "I can't even go by my name in my own home."

Ty Lee offers her a gentle smile and notes that, at the very least, she used the word, _home_. "Price of being the most wanted woman in the Earth Kingdom, I guess." She holds up the wall hanging from Kyoshi Island. "We need something to hand this with," she murmurs, sorting it out of the way. "What about this?" She asks, holding up the cloth mobile. "Where do you want to put this?"

Azula wrinkles her nose. "Where did that even come from?"

"It hung above my crib," Ty Lee answers. "When I was a baby. My mother made it specifically for _me_ , so it's going somewhere."

Azula shrugs carelessly. "Put it wherever you like. It's not like I have any possessions."

"Okay," Ty Lee replies. She stands up and walks over to the one piece of furniture they own, a small table. She climbs up onto it and hooks the wire over a rafter. Then she hops down and turns to look. "Perfect."

She rejoins Azula in the center of the room. "You're turn."

"My turn?" The Princess raises an eyebrow.

"That's what I said," Ty Lee chirps. "This is your home too. So pick something. Put it somewhere."

Reluctantly, Azula reaches into the pile and glides her hand over Ty Lee's possessions until her fingers curl around a thin, tin cylinder. It is battered and abused, the white paint chipped, but the blue wave pattern along the bottom rim is still apparent.

"I got that from Ember Island," Ty Lee admits, dropping her eyes. "I took it from your family's house when we were in there looking for things to burn. It was the only thing there that had something other than fire on it."

Azula stares at the object in her hand for a long moment before standing up and placing it on the window sill.

"Great idea, Az—Sima!" Ty Lee exclaims, standing to join her. "We'll find some flowers to put in it. That way, our apartment will look beautiful even from the outside."

Azula sighs. "I don't know if beautiful is the word I'd use," she reasons. "The royal gardens at the palace were beautiful."

"You just have to take a different perspective now," Ty Lee replies. "That's all. We'll have the most beautiful apartment on the street."

"I suppose I should be upset that you stole from me," Azula drawls.

Ty Lee crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows. "We burned your family portrait," she points out. "You're really going to make a big deal out of me taking a tin?"

"I said I should be angry," Azula answers. "I never said I was."

They return to the few items left on the floor, the string of wooden beads, which Ty Lee hangs over the mirror, the deck of cards, which Azula holds with her fingertips, looking disgusted, until Ty Lee snatches them from her and tosses them onto the table, a paper lantern, which has a couple of rips, but has held up surprisingly well.

"That's from the last time we were here," Ty Lee tells Azula. "I was in the Middle Ring with… a boy, Mateo, maybe? I remember he was really shy, and we went to a poetry reading. Anyway they were hanging all over the place, and they were just so pretty, so I took one."

Azula makes a face like they are back on the ship and she is trying to keep her meal down, and tosses the lantern aside.

"Hey, I love that!" Ty Lee cries, lunging to rescue it from the floor. "What did it ever do to you?"

Azula is silent.

The wall hanging is folded and left on the table until Ty Lee can buy nails, and the quilt is left on the ground, untouched, because they will be sleeping under it tonight.

"We're all moved in," Ty Lee announces, spreading her legs out in front of her and leaning back against the wall. "After everything we've gone through in the past nine days, we're finally here in Ba Sing Se."

"Yes, I'm very excited to begin my new life as a peasant," Azula answers with a roll of her eyes.

"You're just determined to be unhappy, aren't you?"

"I'm just not hopelessly optimistic," Azula amends. She spreads the quilt out across the dusty floor. "Are you prepared to go to sleep soon? The sun is going down, and apparently another thing we don't have is a source of light."

"I'll get us one," Ty Lee promises. "When I have money."

"You know," Azula mutters. "If I had my bending we wouldn't need one."

"Well, you don't have your bending," Ty Lee states, joining her friend on one half of the quilt and pulling the other half of it over their bodies. "So I guess we'll just have to buy a lamp like normal earth peasants, won't we?"

Through the descending darkens, she thinks she hears Azula chuckle.


	6. Fate Is Trivial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, guys. I'm terrible at updating. I just keep forgetting. For updates that are actually twice a week, you might try ff.net, where I actually have posted through chapter 17.

"I've got a job!"

Azula is seated on the wood floor with her back against the far wall, trying to warm her hands enough to singe the corners of one of the playing cards when Ty Lee bursts through the door. She does not jump, but the card slips out of her hand and flutters to the floor.

"Is it giving people heart attacks?"

"Nope," Ty Lee answers, crossing the small room to lay her papers on the table and drop to the floor beside Azula. "It's serving drinks."

Azula is silent for a moment. Then an utterly impossible thought strikes her, and she wrinkles her nose. "Don't tell me you're going to work at that horrible excuse for an _establishment_ downstairs."

"Uh huh," Ty Lee nods happily. "Won't it be great? It's so close to home."

Azula furrows her brow, concerned but disguising herself as skeptical, and Ty Lee's face softens. "Wasn't someone stabbed there two nights ago?"

"Yep," Ty Lee answers. "But it's okay. He didn't die."

"Why would you want to work somewhere like that?" Azula asks, trying to sound disinterested as she picks the card back up and rotates it in her hand.

"I think it'll be fun," Ty Lee replies. "I'll get to meet all sorts of people, and I'll be right downstairs in case—" she breaks off, but she is too late. _In case you need me_ , is how that sentence was supposed to end, and they both know it. "In case I have to come home for some reason," she finishes lamely.

Azula pinches the slightly browned card between her index and middle finger and flicks it against the opposite wall. "There's no need for that, Ty Lee," she hisses. "We both know why you're here." She studies the floor, unable to bring herself to look at her companion. "I suppose you need to be nearby in case I start screaming and maybe mention that my father is Fire Lord Ozai or something."

"Was," Ty Lee reminds her gently. "Your father was Fire Lord Ozai."

Azula snaps her head up to look at Ty Lee, the inadequacy she felt moments ago entirely forgotten. "I told you, he's not dead."

Ty Lee sighs, and Azula thinks she sounds a little sad, but she hasn't a clue why, because Ty Lee is the one in denial, after all, so she simply ignores it.

They sit in silence for a moment before Ty Lee speaks again. Her voice is a very low whisper, to ensure that they aren't heard from the street. "Azula, were you trying to firebend just now?"

"No," Azula growls, returning her eyes, once again, to the patterns in the wood floor.

Ty Lee's hand moves to cover hers, and it feels warm and soft and strangely heavy. It feels comfortable, but she will not admit, even to herself, that she does not want Ty Lee to pull away.

Ty Lee's voice is timid. "You know you can't do that."

"I am perfectly aware of what I can and can't do," Azula snaps, and her momentary anger is enough to cause her to rip her hand from the acrobat's, though she regrets it as soon as the cool air hits her skin.

"That's not what I meant," Ty Lee replies. "I meant, even if you could firebend, you couldn't do it here. Do you know how many firebenders there are in Ba Sing Se?"

"No," Azula reluctantly admits.

"Well, I don't either," Ty Lee answers. "But I bet we can count them on our hands. Zuko told me they're still not really letting them into the city." She plants her hands on Azula's shoulders and gives them a firm shake with each word. "We. Can't. Draw. Attention. To. Ourselves." She crawls across the floor to retrieve the playing card and sets it up on the table with the rest of the stack.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do all day?" Azula mutters. "Sit here and wait for you to return home?"

"Of course not," Ty Lee replies. "We're in a huge city. There's lots to do. Walk around. Learn to paint. Make a friend. I don't know."

"Can you honestly see me painting?" Azula asks, her eyebrows raised.

"Well… no," Ty Lee admits. "But you're the smartest person I know. I'm sure you'll come up with something."

* * *

The next night, it storms in Ba Sing Se. Ty Lee has to tie the shutters closed with the floral wall hanging, and still, they are ill-fit enough that water sprays through. The room is illuminated by lightning again and again. They had storms in the Fire Nation, but never quite like this. This reminds Ty Lee more of the typhoon she experienced during her brief stay on Kyoshi Island. She huddles under the quilt in the far corner of the room, Azula trembling against her.

_"It's him. He's coming for me," Azula had gasped shortly after the storm started._

Of course, it makes sense. Ty Lee wonders if Ozai ever used lightning against his daughter. She does not think she wants to know the answer. She knows he used it against his son.

Now, she tucks the quilt up under Azula's chin and wraps her arm over her friend's shoulders. She can feel the dramatic rise and fall of Azula's chest against her side. "You're safe," she murmurs, even though she doubts it will help.

"He won't stop until he finds me," Azula croaks, shaking her head furiously, jerking free of Ty Lee's arm, and rocking back and forth so forcefully that her back collides with the wall with a loud thud each time. "He told me himself."

"Stop, you're going to hurt yourself." Ty Lee grabs the Princess' shoulders to still her, and then buries Azula's face in her neck. She can feel warm breath on her collar bone, a racing heartbeat against her own chest. She runs her fingers through Azula's hair. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"If you think you can stand take him down, you're deluding yourself," Azula replies, her voice muffled in Ty Lee's skin.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll wake up and everything will be just fine," she promises.

Azula ignores her. "You should just leave me. I'm not worth it. Save yourself."

"You're worth it," Ty Lee assures her friend as she rubs circles into her back in a way that she hopes is soothing and wonders how a person can feel so entitled and so inadequate at the same time.

"Stop lying, Ty Lee," Azula snarls. "You know I can always tell."

"Then it looks like you're a little off your game tonight," Ty Lee answers. "I'm not going anywhere."

There is a loud crack of thunder and the entire room lights up. Azula tenses into Ty Lee's side, and Ty Lee's hand flies to the Princess' hair, holding her head in place, anchoring them together.

"I'm going to die tonight," Azula whispers. "Ty Lee is shocked to hear her voice crack.

"No, you're not," she murmurs against her friend's ear, her heart breaking at the moisture she feels on her neck.

"Why are you even here?"

"Because you're my friend," Ty Lee answers simply. "And I wasn't going to leave you to the Earth King. We're in this together." Azula only presses her face to Ty Lee's neck harder, something Ty Lee knows she will be embarrassed about in the morning.

When the thunder begins to sound distant and the lightning no longer illuminates the entire tiny apartment, Ty Lee is able to sit Azula back against the wall while she spreads the quilt on the floor. Azula climbs onto it, and Ty Lee pulls it up past their heads. The Princess lies facedown and buries her face in the cloth, still shaking violently. Ty Lee wraps her arms around her friend's shoulder once again and settles her forehead against Azula's ear.

"You're okay," she repeats. "You'll be okay."

Azula's heart beats rapidly against Ty Lee's arm, but Ty Lee will keep doing this all night if she has to.

Azula is her friend.

They are in this together.

* * *

Suki is entirely out of her element with the future Fire Lady.

She has been assigned as Mai's personal guard for a week now, ever since they returned from a weekend at the Festival of Lanterns that Suki is positive was equally uncomfortable for both of them. Mai must have found her tolerable though, because the next day, she was being called into the throne room and reassigned. It makes sense, she supposes. She obviously cannot guard the Princess anymore, and now that the engagement is about to be public, Mai will become a prime target for Zuko's enemies. Still, this particular development surprised her. Mai can fight on her own. Mai once captured Suki. Frankly, she is shocked that Mai allowed it.

Mai is crouched under a tree in the garden. Suki stands several feet away pretending to admire the flora for what feels like the hundredth time this week. She tried to make conversation the first couple of days. She does not do that anymore.

"What do you think they're doing right now?"

Mai's voice surprises her, and she whirls around, accidentally tearing the bloom off a fire lily in the process. The other woman's golden eyes bore into her.

"Who?"

"Ty Lee and Azula. Who else?" Mai answers. She drops her eyes to the piece of grass she is methodically peeling apart. Mai does not seem to like the outdoors much. Suki has no idea why she spends so much time here.

"Well," Suki nervously rubs the back of her neck. "It's night in Ba Sing Se. They're probably asleep."

"Hm," Mai grunts. "If they were here, the doctors would probably be pleading with Azula to each her lunch right about now."

"I know," Suki replies.

Mai looks back up at her. Her eyes glint in realization. "And Ty Lee would be standing outside the door with you."

Suki shakes her head. "No, she wouldn't." Mai's eyebrows crease in confusion. "We were off every third day," Suki explains. "This would have been our day off." She pauses. "I just remember because the Gates of Azulon are being cleaned today and we were talking about going down to the shore to watch."

"That sounds incredibly boring," Mai comments, going back to her blade of grass.

"Well," Suki shrugs. "I was raised on a tiny island. I'm not hard to entertain."

"Are you entertained right now?" Mai asks. Her eyebrow raise, but she does not look up. "You can be honest. _I_ 'm not entertained."

"Not… not really," Suki admits.

The future Fire Lady sighs. She stands up, and before Suki knows what has happened, she is walking back toward the palace. "Come on," she calls. "We're going into town."

That is how Suki and Mai end up walking the streets of the Fire Nation's capital city. It reminds Suki forcefully of the Festival of Lanterns, the two of them walking the streets aimlessly, Suki wondering if she should try to say something. She has found that Mai often prefers silence, but Ty Lee was her best friend, and Ty Lee is never silent, so she knows that must not always be the case.

"Do you know where we're going?" she asks, not for the first time since they left the palace.

"I'm going to watch you get a tattoo."

"What?" Suki's eyes widen.

"That was a joke." Mai glances over her shoulder, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Unless you want to."

"Only if we can get each other's names."

It occurs to Suki as the words leave her mouth that she does not know if her relationship with Mai is close enough for that joke, but Mai replies with a dry, "Ha ha," and Suki gets away with it.

"Actually," she says. "I'm buying a new set of knives. I saw them at a shop down here a few days ago."

"You know, if you waited until next week after the engagement is announced, they'd probably just give them to you," Suki points out.

"I know," Mai answers shortly, and she does not elaborate. Suki knows better than to press for details.

The weapons shop where Mai buys her knives is larger than Suki imagined. She has been living in the Fire Nation's capital for two years now, and she is still not accustomed to its scale. Nearly all of Kyoshi Island would fit just within the palace grounds. The statue of Kyoshi, the tallest thing she had seen in her entire life until the warriors left for the mainland in the final months of the war, is dwarfed by the Gates of Azulon, by the roofs of the palace, and Suki feels dwarfed by everyone around her. She is still not used to walking through town without seeing a single familiar face. On Kyoshi Island, the baker had been her next-door neighbor as a child. The butcher had been a friend of her father's.

Mai drops a handful of coins into her hand as she spreads her knives across the counter. "Buy yourself something."

"No," Suki answers, shaking her head and holding the money out. "I can't. I—"

"I'm not going to need money after next week, remember?" Mai asks. "You said so yourself. People will practically be throwing their wares at me. Besides," she gestures around them. "This is a weapons shop. You're my guard. Think of it as an investment in my safety."

Suki does not want to challenge the gesture of goodwill, so she selects a katana. It is cheap, not par with a custom-made weapon handcrafted by an expert sword smith, but it is of higher quality than the roughly-crafted blade she had made when she returned to Kyoshi Island three years ago.

"You can't throw that," Mai comments as she watches Suki hand the coins over the counter, but she nods in approval when the shop tender unsheathes it for a final inspection anyway.

* * *

Within the first two weeks of Ty Lee's employment at the Lazy Badgermole, she and Azula have fallen into a routine. They wake up well after the sun has risen, partly because Ty Lee gets home late and partly because Azula never seems to sleep very well, and Ty Lee goes to the well at the end of the block to get water. They wash, and Azula tries to groom herself to the level to which she was accustomed back in the Fire Nation while Ty Lee tries not to laugh and eventually ends up doing her hair for her. Sometimes they go out during the day and sometimes they stay in. It depends almost exclusively on Azula's mood.

Ty Lee goes to work before dinner six days a week. Sometimes, once the crowd clears out, Azula comes and sits at the bar. They have a light in their room now, but Ty Lee gets the distinct impression that Azula does not like to be alone. She rarely speaks to anyone besides Ty Lee. Ty Lee gets one meal a shift for free, and when Azula is there they split it, because they cannot afford for her to have one of her own.

They have not spoken about Ty Lee holding Azula nearly in her lap during the storm. They have not spoken about how, even with Ty Lee's body draped half over hers and her voice in Azula's ear, Azula did not sleep until the rain had completely passed sometime in the early hours of the morning. They have not spoken about the tears. Ty Lee knows that Azula wants it that way, so she does not bring it up. All she can do is hope that another storm does not come while she is working.

Ty Lee's boss is named Wu Ling. Ty Lee has told him she takes care of a sick cousin. He has three young children. If Azula had an episode and Ty Lee had to leave, she thinks he would understand.

During their third week in the city there is a riot in the Lower Ring. They happen every so often, Ty Lee has heard, but this will be the first she has seen. Ba Sing Se is supposed to be a utopia, but Ty Lee has realized people really only mean the Middle and Upper Rings when they say that. As they are cleaning up after dinner, she and Wu Ling hear a crowd approaching the tavern.

Ty Lee looks up from the table she is wiping down. "Should we close?"

Wu Ling sighs. "We can't. They might decide to stop in for drinks." He shakes his head. "My youngest is sick, and this could be the biggest payday I've seen in years."

So Ty Lee hurries to finish her tables and then joins her employer behind the counter. "Do you want to run and warn your cousin to stay upstairs?" Wu Ling asks.

"No," Ty Lee answers. "She'll know when she hears the crowd." She offers a smile that she does not think looks quite genuine. "Sima doesn't like people."

Wu Ling chuckles. "Must not run in the family."

"Oh… no, it doesn't." Through the window, she can see lights approaching. Torches. There is yelling.

This is all futile. Ty Lee knows it, and the citizens of the Lower Ring probably do too. As long as the Middle and Upper Rings remain pristine, Earth King Kuei probably will not even hear about it.

"They can get kind of rough sometimes," Wu Ling comments. "You know how to fight?"

Ty Lee tries not to smirk. "I can handle myself."

Glass is shattering all down the street, and she is willing to bet that the few buildings that actually had window panes no longer do. Her hand, lying flat on the countertop, curls into a fist so tight that her knuckles glow white. There is a loud thunk as a pipe strikes the frame of one of the front windows. The door flies open.

At once, the tavern floods with people, large men covered in dirt and carrying pipes and boards, smaller men looking generally roughed up and uncomfortable, angry women carrying much too thin children. A man with a long, greasy beard approaches the counter.

"Cactus juice tonic for…" he turns to count. "One, two, three… thirty!" He drops a small bag of coins that, upon glancing inside, Ty Lee is sure cannot possibly add up to enough.

"It's okay," Wu Ling whispers urgently when she opens her mouth to say something. "Just take it."

"But, they need at least twice this," she protests. "What about your son?"

Wu Ling shakes his head. "He'll be better off if I'm alive."

So she reaches into the cabinets and pulls out glasses for her employer to fill with shaking hands. Ty Lee is not afraid. Ty Lee spent time in the circus, was surrounded by the Dai Li, and went to prison all before the age of fifteen. Wu Ling, of course, grew up in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se amidst riots and mysterious disappearances, lost two brothers during General Iroh's six hundred-day siege, and watched Azula's drill break through the wall.

The rioters leave an hour later, significantly more inebriated than they were before, to continue chanting and smashing windows. Wu Ling decides to close early because no one will want to leave their home tonight, and as Ty Lee once again begins to wipe down tables, Azula appears at the top of the stairs.

"Who was here?"

"Sima!" Ty Lee exclaims in surprise. She hurries behind the counter to prepare their usual dinner of fried dough and noodle soup, while Azula advances down the stairs and settles herself at the bar, wrinkling her nose at the dark, sticky stains.

"I know," Ty Lee comments when she sees the look on the Princess' face. "I still haven't had time to clean up. There's a riot going on. They came in here."

Azula's eyes widen at once. "What did they do?" she asks urgently. "Were they violent?"

"Careful or I might think you're worried about me," Ty Lee remarks with a smile. "No, they were fine. They just ordered a lot of drinks and made a mess." She pauses to balance the pan of noodles over the fire. "I didn't think you would come down tonight."

"Surely you didn't think I was afraid of some rowdy peas—" her eyes flit to Wu Ling, at the other end of the counter glancing anxiously out the window, as she corrects herself. "People."

"I just thought all the noises might have…" She does not know where she is going with this. Nowhere Azula will ever admit to.

"I am not _fragile_ , Ty Lee," the Princess snarls, not at all to the acrobat's surprise.

Ty Lee shrugs as she set chipped bowl on the counter in front of Azula. "I know."

"Then act like it," Azula commands, and Ty Lee rolls her eyes.

"You're not the boss of me." Coming out of her mouth it sounds childish and playful, and she hopes Azula will take it that way, instead of as an insult to her self-worth. "Now eat," she adds, pouring half the pan of soup into the bowl in front of her friend. "It's been _forever_ since lunch."

* * *

Nearly a week after the night of the riot, Ty Lee returns to their room to find Azula scratching something into the table with a knife that Ty Lee assumes is stolen from the tavern.

"There's nothing else to do," Azula replies with a shrug of her shoulders. "I've already built the palace out of cards." She gestures to the far corner of the room, where an impressive replica of the Princess' former home still jiggles with the force of the door opening.

"I bought you something," Ty Lee comments.

Azula sighs. "Please tell me it's the bed rolls."

"Next week," Ty Lee promises to an annoyed groan. "This is more like a present."

Azula looks up and raises an eyebrow. "We're sleeping on that quilt for another week because you decided to get me a _present?_ "

"Well," Ty Lee rubs the back of her neck and feels herself flush. In hindsight, this seems like very bad planning. "Yeah. It's just that you've been all cooped up. I wanted you to have something to do."

Azula stands and holds out her hand. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Oh, right!" She pulls out her hand from behind her back to reveal a hand-carved wooden flute. There are intricate little flowers carved into it. They almost look like fire bursts. That is what had drawn Ty Lee in to the instrument in the first place. It is crudely shaped, not like the the master-crafted flute Azula would have learned to play on in the palace, had she not spent all her time practicing her bending. In fact, Ty Lee is not sure the craftsmen was even trained to make instruments—he had also been selling tables—but she'd tried it out in the shop and it sounded fine.

Azula does not move to take it. "What is that?"

"It's a flute," Ty Lee answers, stretching her arm out further.

"And what am I supposed to do with it, exactly?"

"You play music."

Ty Lee is regretting this decision with every passing second. She should have just gotten the bed rolls, she realizes now. She had been on her way, and then she had seen the music shop, and the idea had come to her.

Azula crosses her arms. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Because you're always complaining about how bored you are," she answers. "I thought you could learn to play." She drops her hand, leans back against the wall, and slides to the floor. "Forget it. It was a stupid idea."

Azula returns to the table and continues to carve whatever it is that she is working on so intently. "Your judgment is astounding."

Ty Lee can feel tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She is fourteen again. Fourteen and never good enough for her best friend.

_No._

"You know, I'm trying as hard as I can." Her vision is blurry with unshed tears, but through the haze, she can see Azula look up. "Your brother asked me to come here and take care of you, and I did, because you're my friend, but you know what, Azula?" She stands up and tosses the flute across the room, demolishing the palace of cards. "You're not the only one who lost their entire life. I did too." She moves toward the door, fingers curling around the doorknob. "And I had a lot more to lose."

In a flurry of movement, she is standing at the top of the staircase, the door slamming shut behind her. She stomps down the stairs, still fuming. In the tavern, Wu Ling is drying glasses, preparing for the dinner rush in a couple of hours.

"Something happen?" he asks, glancing up at her with concern.

"She just… she just…" her fists are shaking at her sides, clenched so tightly she does not think she can unfurl them. "She makes me so angry sometimes! It's like she doesn't even care that I'm making an effort."

Wu Ling nods. "Family tends to be like that."

"She's not—" Ty Lee begins, but she cuts herself off, because she will not do this to them. "Ugh, never mind. I'm going for a walk."

"Don't forget," he calls after her. "Your shift starts in an hour."

She walks aimlessly. She ends up at the Firelight Fountain, but it is still daylight, so it is not very impressive. Then she walks back. She was stupid really, for expect anything different from the Princess of the Fire Nation, who once threw her in prison without a backward look. Their relationship has always been unbalanced. Always Ty Lee giving everything she had and Azula taking it and demanding more.

She arrives back at the tavern with ten minutes to spare. "She's not up there," Wu Ling informs her as she begins up the stairs. "She left not long after you did. Didn't say where she was going."

Ty Lee sighs in resignation. She backs down the stairs to join her employer behind the counter. "It's okay. She wouldn't have told you anyway."

"Hey," he replies in mock indignation. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Ty Lee looks up at him with a sad smile. "Just that she's a private person."

"Do you want to… talk about it or something?" he asks, and Ty Lee can tell he is entirely out of his element. "Shiya always wants to talk about things."

"She's just..." Ty Lee pauses to search for the right word. "Difficult. She expects a lot. She's demanding."

"But she doesn't work?" Wu Ling raises his brows.

"I already told you, she's not well," Ty Lee answers. "And even if she was, I don't think she likes people enough."

"Well, it seems like you're the one in the position of power," Wu Ling shrugs, turning back to the plates he is stacking. "You could toss her out if you wanted to."

"She knows I would _never_ do that." Ty Lee replies, suddenly filled with conviction.

"Doesn't change the fact that you could," he states. "Would she do that for you?" She is grateful that he does not wait for an answer. "Listen, I've been with the same girl for twelve years, married for eight. We were childhood sweethearts. I know it's not really that long in the grand scheme of things, but I feel like I've learned my fair share about how a relationship works." He turns to look at her once more. "Relationships are about respect and appreciation. It has to cut both ways."

"You know that Sima and I are cousins, right?" Ty Lee questions, confused by the turn their conversation has taken.

"It's still true," Wu Ling replies. "That's what you need for a healthy relationship. Romantic or not."

Ty Lee nods and thinks to herself that respect and appreciation are two things she will probably never get from Azula, but it has been an interesting conversation all the same.

* * *

Azula does not arrive for dinner that night, not at all to Ty Lee's surprise. She eats the entire meal herself and then feels incredibly guilty for thinking that it is nice to not still feel hungry after a meal for once.

She takes as long as she possibly can to close the tavern, even though Wu Ling offers to let her leave early, and then she drags herself up the stairs. Azula is already curled under the quilt, and Ty Lee realizes she must have returned during a busy period when she was distracted.

She climbs into the quilt and settles herself in, back facing her companion.

"You're later than usual."

Ty Lee turns her head to look over her shoulder. Azula's hard, golden eyes are staring at her. She'd thought the Princess was asleep. She realizes she should have learned by now that Azula is rarely asleep.

"I thought you might have gone home with the bartender."

"You mean Wu Ling? The owner?" She yawns. "He has a family, you know. Why would you think that?"

Azula shrugs and drops her eyes. "Listen," Ty Lee says as she rolls over. "The flute was stupid."

"It would have been less stupid if we'd had all the necessities first," Azula concedes.

"Azula," Ty Lee takes a deep breath. "I'm the one with a job. I make the money. And I… I could kick you to the curb if I wanted to." She says it so quickly she is not sure if Azula was even able to comprehend it until she replies.

"You won't do that."

"No, I won't," she admits. "But I wanted you to know that I could. And it would be nice if you would stop mocking me when I'm the only reason you're not eating out of the garbage."

"That's ridiculous," Azula scoffs. "No one throws away anything edible in this part of the city."

Ty Lee crosses her arms. "That's not the point, and you know it." She sighs and wills herself to relax. "Listen. Not that long ago, I held you all night through a lightning storm while you cried."

"I had every reason to be upset," the Princess argues, and Ty Lee notes her replacement of the word, cry. "He was looking for me. I'm lucky to be alive."

"I know this might be hard for you," Ty Lee continues. "But I'm not your servant. I'm not your employee. We're equals now. All I want is for you to treat me like a friend."

Azula's eyes go wide, and Ty Lee knows that it is because _I am your equal_ are words Azula has never heard in her life. Not from her mother, whom, try as she might, Azula could not manipulate. Not from her brother, who was always her inferior, even though he was more valuable politically. Certainly not from Mai and Ty Lee. There was Ozai and there were Azula's inferiors, and nothing else.

"It's okay," Ty Lee adds reassuringly. She covers Azula's hand with her own and is surprised when it is not pulled out from under her. "You'll get used to it. It's really not so bad." She giggles. "It's a lot less pressure."

Azula breathes a heavy sigh and rolls over, and Ty Lee knows the conversation is finished for tonight, but this is something she will not let up on. Azula has treated her like a servant that she is mildly fond of for far too long.

The tables have turned.


	7. Fate Is Brutal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** Strong implications of sexual abuse in this chapter. Also, there is a sort of moderately graphic sex scene that, while technically consensual, is still relatively traumatic for one of the parties involved.

Illness spreads quickly in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. People get sick, but they cannot afford to close their businesses, so their customers get sick. Dozens use the same water tap. Everyone on the block comes to the same tavern. Ty Lee is not surprised when she wakes up just after the first frost with liquid dripping from her nose.

Azula looks at her with a skeptical eyebrow raised when she tells her in a nasally voice that she is leaving for work, but she finally shrugs and returns to the incomprehensible, to Ty Lee at least, card game she is playing.

"Good afternoon, Ty Lee," Wu Ling calls as she climbs down the stairs. The movement makes her sides ache. "I heard a lot of coughing up there earlier. Is Sima sick?"

"No," Ty Lee sniffles.

"Oh no," he turns to her, his brow creased. "Are you going to give that to my customers? We're already slow enough these days, with this bug going around."

"I'll be fine," Ty Lee assures him. She suppresses a cough. "I'll be careful."

"You better be," he tells her. "My older daughter has this… whatever it is. She hasn't been able to leave the house in a week."

"I won't cough on anything or anyone," she assures him, and for a while, that promise seems entirely possible to keep, but two hours later, her nose feels like it might explode if she holds it in any longer, and then she is having a sneezing fit behind the counter, heavily propped against a shelf of plates. Customers eye her warily but continue to eat their meals, unable to afford to waste food they have already paid for.

"Okay, that's it," Wu Ling tells her, reaching around her neck to untie her apron. "Go home, Ty Lee. Come back when you're feeling better."

She sighs, the movement of air in her throat causing another bout of coughing. She turns, reaches to lean on the counter, and makes her way back up to her apartment.

"That was quick," Azula comments without looking up.

"He made me leave," Ty Le moans, collapsing onto her bedroll.

"What?" Azula demands sharply. "What do you mean, he made you leave."

"He said I was too sick," Ty Lee answers. "He sent me home."

"Are you still getting paid," she asks, setting down the pile of cards in her hand.

Ty Lee sighs and buries her face in the pillow. It is hard, not at all like what she was used to at the palace, but at least it is not the floor. "Not if I'm not there."

"Then how will we eat?"

"Don't worry," Ty Lee replies with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow."

"You probably got this from your boy on the next street," Azula comments, the veiled resentment in her voice stunning. "You know that right?"

"What boy?" Ty Lee asks into the pillow.

"The one who makes you late getting back from work sometimes," Azula replies. "You didn't think I actually believed that it takes an hour longer to close the tavern some days than others, did you?"

Ty Lee sighs. "Last time I saw Nato, he wasn't sick," she answers. "And besides, that was almost a week ago. But you probably know that, if you're so interested in my schedule."

Azula is silent as Ty Lee falls into a loud, fitful sleep.

When Ty Lee wakes up the next morning, her eyelids are crusted together and there is a sting of drool connecting her mouth to her pillow. She sits up with a groan and runs a hand down her face. She cannot breathe through her nose.

"It's late," she hears Azula comment, accusation heavy in her voice. "I had to get the water myself."

Ty Lee rubs the goo out of her eyes so she can open them. Pools of water trail from the door onto the washroom. Azula is seated at the table, her hair pulled into an extremely sloppy version of the braid Ty Lee has been weaving it into every morning since they left the Fire Nation. Missed strands of hair hang in front of her face and down the back of her neck.

Ty Lee sighs. "Come here," she instructs. Her voice comes out raspy and the words feel like they are scraping her throat on the way up. "Let me fix your braid."

"I'm not a child," Azula snaps, but she gets up from the table and situates herself on the bedroll in front of Ty Lee anyway. "You're not better," she comments, but it sounds like another accusation.

"No," Ty Lee agrees. Her voice is soft, but the words still sting her throat. "I'm not." She sighs and then immediately wishes she hadn't as it spurs a coughing fit. "Listen, Sima, I have an idea, and you're not going to like it."

She can see Azula's shoulders tense. After a moment, she whispers through clenched teeth, "Continue."

"I thought… maybe…" Ty Lee hesitates. "Maybe, you could go to work for me."

Azula's laugh surprises her. She had been expecting to be scolded for even suggesting such a thing. "You're _hilarious_ , Ty Lee. Me? Work? Well done. I haven't heard a joke that funny since dear Zuko told me he was going to be Fire Lord."

"I'm serious, Azula," Ty Lee murmurs, careful to keep her voice low so that it does not drift out the window into the ears of passerby on the street below. "We don't have another option."

"I refuse to serve peasants," Azula replies. "Maybe you're okay with degrading yourself to that level, but _I_ have standards."

"If your standards including eating, you'll do this," Ty Lee answers, and as she watches Azula's shoulders deflate, she knows she has won.

* * *

Azula makes it almost all the way through one shift.

She arrives just after the end of the dinner rush with a bowl of noodle soup and a plate of fried dough. Ty Lee is not asleep, but she is so out of it she does not even realize that Azula is in the room until she hears the ceramic ware clink to on the floor beside her.

"Sima?" she yawns as her vision begins to come into focus. Azula is hovering above her, her lips bent into a deep frown. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work."

"I brought dinner," Azula grunts, gesturing to the bowl in front of her.

Ty Lee furrows her brow as she pushes herself into a sitting position. "Did Wu Ling tell you you could bring this up to me?"

"I don't need to ask permission to come up here," Azula replies. "This is my… home."

"But you do need permission to leave work during your shift," Ty Lee groans. "Get back down there."

"No." She drops to the floor beside Ty Lee and holds a spoon out to her. "We're having dinner together. As Princess of the Fire Nation, I command it so."

Ty Lee wants to remind her that she has no authority here, and that ordering this as Princess of the Fire Nation will not prevent Wu Ling from being angry about it later, but she is hungry and her sinuses are throbbing and the last thing she wants to do right now is argue, so she takes the spoon and allows Azula to tear up the fried dough and drop it into her soup for her.

"How's my job?" Ty Lee asks as soon as she has taken a bite. Already she can feel the soup clearing her sinuses and soothing her sore throat.

"Ugh," Azula sighs. "It's atrocious. I don't know how you do it Ty Lee. They're all so… dirty. And they keep whistling at me. I just want to snap their necks."

Ty Lee bites back a grin as she lays her feverish hand on Azula's arm. "You have to let them whistle," she replies. "But if they touch you, you take them down."

Azula snorts. "If they touch me, there will be nothing left of them to take back to their families."

"That's the spirit!" Ty Lee cheers.

"They talk to me like some kind of… of servant," Azula continues. "It's enraging."

"But, you kind of are," Ty Lee points out. "You're serving them in exchange for one meal a shift and barely enough money to keep us in this room."

Azula rolls her eyes. "I don't know how you deal with it."

Ty Lee shrugs. "It's not that much different than working for you."

Azula crosses her arms. "You had benefits."

"If, by benefits, you mean hanging out with you," Ty Lee answers. "It's not like you paid me."

"I never treated you like that," Azula insists.

"Well," Ty Lee drawls as she tilts her head to the side. "You made me come with you under threat of terror, and then I had to jump in a pipe full of sludge for you, and battle the Avatar for you, and you never even thanked me."

"I'd have thought you'd be grateful," Azula replies stiffly. "I granted you standing that the seventh daughter of a disgraced noble never should have had."

Ty Lee raises her eyebrows. "I ran away to the circus," she answers. "Do you really think I cared about standing?" She closes her lips around another spoonful of soup before speaking again. "I was happy to do it, Azula," she says. "But it was a very thankless job. Just like this one."

She pats her friend's arm, and Azula finishes her soup in silence and then collects the plates and goes back to work, and the next time Ty Lee wakes up, it is Wu Ling standing over her.

"Where's Az—Sima?" she asks quickly, sitting up and kicking herself for her slip up. "Did something happen?"

"Ty Lee," Wu Ling sighs, shaking his head. "I tried. I really did."

She rubs her eyes and blinks up at him. "What do you mean, you tried?"

"She's rude to the customers, she won't take instruction, and I don't trust her to do her job when I have my back turned. She disappeared for half an hour early tonight." He is frowning deeply, and Ty Lee knows exactly where this is headed. It would be difficult not to.

"She was here," she admits.

"Ty Lee, I'm sorry," he is saying. "I wanted this to work out, but I can't employ her."

"That's okay." She tries to smile, but it makes her face hurt. "I knew it was a long shot."

"Come back in as soon as you're feeling better," Wu Ling replies as he turns toward the door.

"Wait," Ty Lee calls after him. "She doesn't really take criticism that well." She sighs. "Send her up here. She'll take it better coming from me."

* * *

"You've been fired," Ty Lee blurts out as soon as Azula enters the room that night. She has been lying awake ever since Wu Ling left, trying to decide what the best way to break the news to Azula would be, until she finally decided that if she did not say it right away, she never would.

"Excuse me?" Ty Lee can almost hear Azula's eyebrows shooting up.

"You don't have to go back tomorrow," Ty Lee explains. "Wu Ling said you were scaring away the customers."

"That simple bartender doesn't think I'm fit to serve a bunch of dirty earth peasants?" Azula asks, her voice beginning to raise. "I'll go back down there right now and show him—"

"No!" Ty Lee exclaims, sitting up so quickly her head spins. "This is not Wu Ling's fault, Sima. He said you were rude to people. He said you wouldn't listen to him."

"I won't apologize for wishing to maintain a shred of the dignity I have left," Azula replies. She is no longer near yelling, but there is still an edge to her voice.

"I asked you to do one thing," Ty Lee replies. "One thing to keep food in front of us. How are we going to eat now? How much _dignity_ do you think you're going to have when we're lying here starving?"

Azula crosses her arms. "So you agree with him now. Is that it? I knew eventually you would. I knew he'd get to you."

Ty Lee groans in frustration. "No one has gotten to me. You need to come down off your high horse." She lowers her voice so that she is certain Azula can just hear her. "Guess what, no one knows that you're royalty here, and even if they did, do you really think they'd care? This is the _Earth_ Kingdom, not the Fire Nation. You just need to… you need to get over yourself."

Azula presses her lips together and studies a spot on the wall near the door as if she is thinking about something. Finally, she returns her piercing gold eyes to Ty Lee's. "I'll make sure we have food," she states simply.

Ty Lee pulls her gaze away. "Well, I don't know where you're going to get it."

"I'll figure something out," Azula insists. "My intelligence is exemplary. I still have _that_ , you know."

"I know," Ty Lee repeats. _Most of the time_.

"Just…" Azula pauses. "Just don't worry about it, okay?" Her voice shakes slightly, and Ty Lee thinks that it might be Azula's version of an apology.

"Okay, Azula," Ty Lee whispers as she lies back down.

Azula does not answer, but a moment later, she is at Ty Lee's side. "Sit back up."

"Why?" Ty Lee whines. "I'm comfy."

She can almost hear Azula rolling her eyes. "Just do it."

She sits back up with a groan, and her eyes spring open when she feels something touch her lips. "Drink," Azula instructs.

Obediently, Ty Lee parts her lips and allows the Princess to tip the cup of water into her mouth, her free hand resting supportively between Ty Lee's shoulder blades.

"Better?" Azula asks when Ty Lee has emptied the cup. The acrobat nods as she wipes her mouth on the back of her arm. She swears she hears something akin to actual affection in her friend's voice. "Good," Azula says, standing back up and turning to leave the cup by the basin of water in the washroom. "Try to get some sleep. With any luck, you'll be able to go to work tomorrow, and none of this will matter."

Ty Lee waits until Azula is beside her on her own bedroll to speak again, so that she can use her name. "Thank you, Azula."

"Don't get used to it," Azula replies quickly, but Ty Lee can hear something soft in her tone.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't hand her over?"

Zuko rarely hears Kuei raise his voice. The man is usually so soft-spoken, usually so content to allow his advisors to speak for him. The only things he ever really gets works up over are the demographics of the provisional occupation forces in the United Republic until the government is set up and Azula.

Zuko shrugs, attempts to hide his bemusement. "I meant what I said," he answers. "Even if I wanted to hand Azula over to you, which I don't," he adds quickly. "I couldn't."

"And why, may I ask, is that?" Kuei asks, struggling to keep his frustration under control.

"We don't have her anymore," Zuko answers. "My sister succeeded in escaping from our custody about…" he pauses to pretend to do some math. In actuality, Zuko know exactly how many days it has been since he last saw his sister. "About two and a half months ago."

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Kuei asks. He has succeeded in bringing his voice back to a level tone again, but his shoulders are still tensed, his hands still clenched into fists.

"I didn't realize you cared so much for her wellbeing," Zuko replies with a raise of his eyebrows.

"How am I supposed to believe that a teenaged girl, seriously ill if I'm to believe you, was able to thwart a team of highly skilled firebenders?" Kuei asks, finally allowing his muscles to relax but crossing his arms in evident skepticism.

"My sister is an accomplished fighter and a brilliant strategist," Zuko explains, swelling with an odd sense of pride. "I would have expected you of all people to know that. I don't think I like what you're insinuating."

"You had better be using all of the resources at your disposal to find her," Kuei says, his face suddenly shrouded in worry. "She's out there somewhere planning who knows what. I'll have to warn all the major cities now. I'll have to increase security going into Ba Sing Se. I can't believe you allowed this to happen. You've endangered the entire world." He stops for a moment to breathe. "She should have been turned over to us at my first request. I assure you she would not have escaped our facilities."

"You mean the secret prison under Lake Laogai?" Zuko asks. He shakes his head in disapproval. "I am doing everything I can to get my sister back. Believe me, I don't like the idea of her wandering around the wilderness on her own any more than you do. Now, if you're finished accusing me of crimes without evidence, I have another matter to attend to."

Mai is waiting outside the door of the conference room for him, Suki at her side. The two have developed an… odd relationship in Ty Lee's absence. Zuko does not know how to describe it. Not friends exactly. More like confidantes. Their heads are bent together in hushed conversation, but they look up when they hear the door close behind him.

"How did it go?" Mai asks, striding forward to wrap her arm around his. They are allowed to display affection more publicly now that they are engaged, an idea about which Mai is still not terribly enthusiastic.

"About as well as I could have hoped," he answers offering her a small smile. "He only yelled once and it was very brief. Honestly, by the end of the conversation, he was too worried she might try to take over the world again to be angry at me."

"A valid fear," Mai replies. They fall into step back toward the airship, Suki several paces behind them, hand perpetually on the handle of her sword. "So, what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"I have to interview a few of the Fire Nation representatives we're considering for the counsel position," Zuko answers. "And then Aang and I have to meet with Kuei, Hakoda, and Arnook to continue our discussion about the city's police force. I still like Toph's metalbending students for the job, but I think Arnook and Kuei are learning toward something a little more traditional, like what they have in the Northern Water Tribe and Ba Sing Se, because the Dai Li have worked out so well."

"Do they know who any of the other representatives are going to be yet?" Suki asks from behind them. Technically, as a guard, she is not supposed to speak unless spoken to, but that is not a rule any of them have respected since the Kyoshi Warriors were hired.

Zuko smiles back at her. "Sokka is still in the running for the Southern Water Tribe position," he replies as he watches her face light up. "Arnook keeps accusing Hakoda of favoritism if he chooses his son, but Kuei, Aang, and I are backing him up, and if Kuei and I agree on something, that's hard to argue with."

"Well, that all sounds incredibly boring," Mai comments, pretending to yawn. "I think Suki and I will go into the city for the afternoon."

"Are you sure?" Zuko asks.

"I'll have my own meetings to attend soon," she reminds him. "I need to make the most of my freedom before I become the Fire Lady." She leans in to press a kiss to his lips, lingering longer than he thinks she intends to. "I'll see you for dinner."

* * *

On the first day, Azula brings four slices of bread. "I was completely right," she comments with none of the usual arrogance a person should have when they utter those words. "People don't throw out food in this part of the city." She holds two of the slices out to Ty Lee with a sigh. "The baker down the block gave these to me after he caught me digging in his garbage cans. I'll try the Middle Ring tomorrow."

Ty Lee has never seen the Princess look so defeated.

On the second day, Azula returns long after dark with a single potato. "I was forcibly removed from the Middle Ring," she explains. "They said I was disturbing the peace." She holds up the potato. "We can split it," she says, but she nearly decimates it when she tries to break it in half, and they both end up scooping potato bits off of the floor with their bare hands. Already, Ty Lee can see her bones beginning to become more prominent. Azula frowns when she glances up at Ty Lee's face, and she wonders if she really looks that bad.

On the third day, Ty Lee can feel Azula's hand shaking when she places it against her forehead to check her temperature. "You feel warm," she remarks, but the fever is no surprise to either of them. Ty Lee has had a fever for at least three days now. "I'll bring back some real food tonight," she promises, but Ty Lee does not get her hopes up.

Azula brings a handful of nuts. "We probably shouldn't go back to the green grocer for a while," she says as she counts them into two piles. "I stole these. I don't think he saw me, but—"

"Azula!" Ty Lee interrupts. She has no qualms about using Azula's name. She can barely force any sound out of her mouth. "No stealing. You'll get arrested. By the Dai Li."

"I know," Azula sighs. "I just… didn't know what else to do."

On the fourth day, Azula finally enters the apartment hours after the sun has set. She is covered in grime, but Ty Lee can see clean streaks on her cheeks, and she knows the Princess has been crying.

"I don't have anything," she admits, holding her empty palms out for Ty Lee to see.

"It's okay," Ty Lee murmurs as loudly as she can, but she is still not sure if Azula hears her. She climbs out of her bedroll and draws herself to a shaky stand. She makes her way across the small room and takes Azula, by the arm, into the washroom. Azula's arm shakes and Ty Lee's hand shakes, and both their stomachs protest loudly. Ty Lee props Azula against the door frame and leans heavily on the table where the basin sits. She takes the rag from the hook by the mirror, catching a glimpse of herself in the process.

She looks like a corpse. Her skin is pale from illness, her cheeks hollowed from hunger, and her eyes dark and clouded from a combination of the two.

She dips the rag into the water and presses it to Azula's face, rubbing gently across the skin of her cheeks and chin and forehead and nose, down her neck and across her shoulders until the grime fades away. "There," she smiles. "You look just like new."

It is a lie and they both know it.

* * *

If Azula ever thought she and Ty Lee lived in the worst area of Ba Sing Se, she had been completely wrong. The closer she comes to the wall separating the Lower Ring to the Agrarian Zone, the more run down the buildings get, the more haggard the people in the streets are, and the more she finds of what she is looking for.

She pulls her hair out of the braid Ty Lee had woven it into that morning and stashes the worn green ribbon into the pocket of her dress. She cannot believe she ever scorned that peasant girl Ty Lee fucked for looking dirty. She looks at least ten times worse now.

She has not gone far before there is a group of girls, occasionally a boy or two among them, almost at thin as she is, loitering outside the door of almost every bar and inn. They do not look like they are doing anything special, other than giggling at passers-by. They all have on some sort of makeup, but Azula supposes she will have to make do without. They must go into the Middle Ring to buy it, because Azula has not seen it in any of the shops near where she and Ty Lee live, and she would never be able to afford anything for sale in the Middle Ring. She is naturally pretty anyway. She knows that.

She wanders the filthy streets until she finds an in with an empty doorway and she takes up residence there, leaning casually against the doorframe and trying to twist her lips into a smile that looks genuine and unthreatening.

She stands there for an hour before she is called on. The man is a head taller than her, unsurprising really, given her petite frame, and has the muscular build of a laborer. He is missing the empty look in his eye that Azula has seen in many of the people in this neighborhood this morning, and she supposes she could do worse.

"How much?" he grunts, and she realizes she has no idea how much a person is supposed to charge for this sort of thing.

"Twelve copper pieces," she guesses. That will feed her and Ty Lee for at least three meals.

"A pricy one, huh?" The man thinks for a moment. "Fine. Follow me. Not too closely."

The bar they go into is darker and noisier than the one where Ty Lee works, even in the afternoon. The man flicks two copper pieces onto the counter and starts up a narrow flight of stairs. Anxiously, Azula follows him, ignoring the leers of the patrons.

Once they are in the room, it all happens very quickly. She is on her back and she can feel dry lips on her neck, poorly shaven facial hair scratching at her collar bone. The top of her dress is bunched around her hips and a pair of hands kneed her breasts. They are larger and rougher than the other pair of hands that have touched her there, but no more gentle, calloused fingers digging into her skin hard enough to bruise. Then one of his hands is moving down her side, slipping under the waist of the dress, smoothing over her ass, skimming along her thigh. She can feel the unforgiving pads of his fingers between her legs, and she focuses on the low beams of the ceiling and tries not to think of the other fingers that have been there. He is pulling her dress down her legs. She can feel the material slide over her thighs, knees, calves, feet, and she braces herself for what she knows is coming. He pushes her knees apart and slides into her, and she squeezes her eyes shut and wills herself not to remember, not to think at all. She tries to imagine what they will eat tonight, vegetables, fruits, and maybe even a little bit of meat if they are lucky, as her back slips along the sheets with the force of his thrusts.

"You weren't worth twelve copper pieces," he grunts as he tosses the coins onto the mattress beside her.

The room is paid for for an hour, so she takes her time leaving. She can see bruises blooming on her hips. Ty Lee will not see them. Azula does not dress in front of her. She pulls her dress back on and sinks onto the mattress, dropping her head into her hands. She had not really thought about her decision beforehand. They needed money, and this was how she could get it. Now the consequences of the act are beginning to sink into her. She will allow herself to cry over this one time, like she has always done. Her back heaves as she remembers when she stood on top of the world in this very city. For one golden summer, she had everything she'd ever wanted. None of that had been good enough, of course, once Zuko left again. The status quo returned, and in turn, Azula returned to lying silently beneath her sheets each night, unwilling to admit to her own fear as she waited to see if the door would creak open.

She imagines Ty Lee's face lighting up when she sees the food Azula will bring, and it is enough to stop the tears. She wipes her face on her sleeve, thankful that she did not wear makeup. Then, she collects her pay and leaves the bar without looking at anyone.

* * *

For the first time since their arrival in Ba Sing Se, Azula wakes Ty Lee up with a nightmare. She is jerking and whimpering in her bedroll, the sheets twisted around her legs and torso. One moment she is curled into a ball, and the next, she is as straight as a board, back arched, feet flexed.

"Azula," Ty Lee whispers as she sits up and climbs across the small expanse of floor that separates them. She lays a hand on her friend's shoulder and shakes. "Azula."

Azula jumps violently and peers over her shoulder at her, her eyes wide and frightened. Ty Lee notices with a painful jolt of her heart that there are tears streaking her cheeks.

"You were having a nightmare," she explains.

"I was not," Azula mumbles, sitting up and trying to wipe her face as discretely as possible.

Ty Lee raises an eyebrow. "Azula, come on," she replies. "We've been sleeping in the same room for months now. I know what regular sleeping looks like. That wasn't it."

"I don't have nightmares," Azula insists. "You must be seeing things. It's probably the fever. Are you certain you weren't the one dreaming?"

It is a thin defense and they both know it.

"Azula, tell me what's wrong," Ty Lee whispers as she moves to brush a strand of hair out of the Princess' face. For the first time, Azula jerks away before her fingers even make contact.

"Don't—" She breaks off.

"Azula," Ty Lee knits her eyebrows together in concern. "Did something happen today?"

"No," Azula answers firmly. "I'm completely fine. I did not have a nightmare. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that before it gets through your thick skull. I don't even dream."

"Everybody dreams," Ty Lee replies, unfazed.

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I am not everybody," Azula snaps.

Ty Lee sighs. "You can keep denying it all you want," she says. "But I know what I saw. I'm only asking because I care."

"No, you're not," Azula argues, dropping her eyes. "You just want to know my weaknesses so you can exploit them. That's all anyone ever wants."

Ty Lee shrugs. "Well, I guess I'm not anyone, then. Hear that? It's like we were made for each other."

Azula shakes her head. "You're such a fool, Ty Lee."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright," Azula answers as she lies back down and rolls over so that Ty Lee is staring at her back. "I was _not_ having a nightmare."

"Of course not, Azula," Ty Lee concedes with another sigh. She moves to brush the Princess' hair out of her face one more time, but her brow furrows. "Where did that come from?"

"What?" Azula asks, but her question is answers when she feels Ty Lee's small, smooth fingers skim across her neck. Her body twists away from the touch involuntarily. "It's nothing," she replies, although she knows she has been betrayed by her actions. "I got it while I was doing that work today."

"What kind of work was it?" Ty Lee probes.

"I already told you," she snaps. "I performed a service for someone. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Kind of," Ty Lee answers, distracted as she studies the deep red bruise. She has seen bruises like that before on her own body. Her stomach twists unpleasantly. She remembers Azula entering the apartment, remembers thinking she was carrying herself strangely, but being too excited about the food in her arms to give it much thought. Azula did this for her, she realizes, and she thinks she might be sick. She feels tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she drops her forehead to the edge of Azula's bedroll and lets them out. She cries freely and loudly and forcefully, cries until she can hardly breathe. Somewhere on the edge of her consciousness, she is aware of the sound of rustling sheets and a hand coming to rest on the back of her head.


	8. Fate Is Vengeful

"I don't know why you had to drag us here on the coldest day of the year," Azula comments, shivering violently and hugging her coat tighter around her body. Azula has still not adapted to Earth Kingdom winters. Ty Lee has boarded up the window in their apartment to keep the heat in, and still, while she curls herself into a little bundle inside her quilt and contently falls asleep, Azula's teeth chatter through the night even under her own blanket and the down coat Ty Lee brought home from work for her after some unfortunate customer left it on the counter.

"Because, isn't it beautiful?" the acrobat replies. Aesthetically, there is not much to Ba Sing Se's zoo, but under a blanket of snow, it looks like a wonderland. Ty Lee is almost jealous that Katara and Sokka were raised in the South Pole, where there is snow on the ground all year. All she had in the Fire Nation were beaches and volcanos. "I thought maybe we should get out of the city for a while."

"I thought the point was to look at the animals," Azula complains. "There aren't even any out. Why are we even here?"

"Yes there are," Ty Lee argues. "See?" She points to an enclosure up ahead where a polar bear dog happily roams about. "I wanted to see the winter animals. We didn't see those in the forest, huh?"

"That's because they're not native to the Earth Kingdom," Azula answers, clenching her teeth together and crossing her arms in front of her chest in an attempt to keep in warmth. "They live in the South Pole. I don't know what it's even doing here."

"I do!" Ty Lee exclaims. "Usi said the Ba Sing Se zoo made a deal with some zoo in the northern section of the United Republic."

"The entire United Republic is north," Azula mutters.

Ty Lee continues, unfazed. "In the winter, they send some of their animals that can handle colder temperatures up there, and we get winter animals down here."

"Who is Usi?" the Princess asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ty Lee shrugs. "Just a boy I met in the tavern last week."

"Well, I'll be sure to stake my life on the contents of your pillow talk with _Usi_ ," Azula grumbles. Ty Lee thinks she might sound more bitter than usual, but that is probably because she is so cold. Or because of what happened when they were starving. She pushes the thought from her mind.

Azula seems to be waiting for her to deny the implication, but when Ty Lee does not, she continues, her frown deepening, "This is ridiculous. We've been here almost an hour and that polar bear dog is the first living thing we've seen. Let's just go home."

"But I heard there was a koalaotter," Ty Lee replies. "Please, Sima?"

"Did Usi tell you that?" Azula snarls.

"Umm…" Ty Lee rubs the toe of her boot into the snow. "Please?" she repeats, attempting to change the subject. "That's all I want to see, and then we can go."

"Fine," Azula groans. She breathes into her hands and rubs them together, and Ty Lee remembers with a pang that the last time Azula was in the Earth Kingdom, she had been a firebender.

"Great!" Ty Lee exclaims. She flings her arms around her friend, rubbing up and down her back to generate heat. "We'll be home in less than an hour. I promise."

Azula grunts her reply and Ty Lee retracts her arms, looping them instead around the crook of the Princess' elbow. "Come on, I think it's this way. You'll love it. They're supposed to be really cute."

"Did—" Azula begins before Ty Lee cuts her off.

" _Katara_ told me that."

Azula snaps her mouth shut and allows Ty Lee to drag her past the otter penguins and the turtle seals and the buffalo yaks with a surprising complacency.

* * *

That evening, Wu Ling allows Ty Lee to heat a pot of water in his stove, even though it is her night off. When she returns upstairs, Azula gladly accepts the hot cup of tea being thrust into her hands, even though she does not like tea. Ty Lee sits across from her on the floor and studies her as she sips her own drink. Azula looks perpetually tired now, and she seems to be losing weight. Her cheeks have hollowed out more than can be attributed to the natural effects of aging. Ty Lee is worried about her.

"Can I ask you something?" she finally asks.

Azula raises an eyebrow. "I believe you just did."

"Well," Ty Lee scoots toward her, "Can I ask you something else?"

"That depends on what it is," Azula replies.

She takes a deep breath and lets the words tumble out of her mouth quickly, before she thinks better of it. "Why did you keep getting so upset when I mentioned Usi today? "

Azula does not meet Ty Lee's eyes when she answers. "I just think you could do better than some Lower Ring dweller. You're very pretty, Ty Lee. You should take advantage of it."

"That's not it," Ty Lee replies. "You weren't happy about the boys I saw when we were here before either, and they were nobles."

"Frankly, I'm not even sure why you brought me along on that little escapade," Azula continues, ignoring Ty Lee's argument completely. "When you clearly spoke at such length about it with him. I don't know why you didn't just drag him along. I'm sure he would go anywhere you asked him to."

"I didn't want to be there with him," Ty Lee answers, reaching over to rest a hand on Azula's knee. Slowly, Azula's eyes drift up to meet her own. "I wanted to be there with you." A laugh bubbles up her throat. "Besides, I know he would have gone with me. He kept telling me so when we were talking about it. If I wanted to bring him, I would have, but I told him, no, I'm going with my cousin."

Azula lips twist into a sneer. "I'm not your cousin."

Ty Lee rolls her eyes. "Obviously. But _he_ doesn't know that. Seriously, Azula, I thought we had this whole cover story thing down."

"We do," Azula replies. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Wait." Ty Lee furrows her brow. "You don't?"

"I don't want to be your cousin," Azula answers. She drops her eyes back to her tea and busies herself stirring the liquid inside. Ty Lee wants to tell her that doing that will make it too cold to drink, but she instead, she breathes a long sigh.

"I'm sorry," she says, scooting back again to put more distance between the two of them. "I just thought we were having fun."

"I was never _having fun_ ," Azula corrects her, but then her voice softens. "Wait, Ty Lee, that's not what I meant. It's not you. It's this whole… situation, and when I said I didn't want to be your cousin… that's just not what I meant."

"I know," Ty Lee answers with a nod. "I know what… happened to you." She thinks about the weight that Azula has lost over the past two months, how tired she always looks now, and she feels an ache in her chest. "I was just… trying really hard to make it better for you."

"I know," Azula replies. Ty Lee can feel the weight of a hand on hers, and when she looks up, she does not recognize the emotion in Azula's eyes. She offers a small, testing smile, and when the Princess returns it, Ty Lee launches forward and wraps her arms around the other girl's shoulders, an enthusiastic hug that Azula hesitantly returns.

"You could have at least warned me to put my tea down," she mutters, and Ty Lee can feel the vibrations of her voice against her own shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sima." Ty Lee slips back into the now-familiar cover as she pulls away. "Did I get it on you?"

"No," Azula answers. "It appears the floor took the brunt of your excitement."

"Good," Ty Lee replies, pushing herself into a standing position. "I'll go get a rag."

She turns too quickly to see the flush coloring Azula's cheeks.

* * *

Suki is positively beaming when Mai sees her. They have not spoken in a week. Suki went with Zuko to the South Pole to negotiate a trade arrangement with Hakoda. Mai had been forced to stay behind. They are in the early stages of planning a royal wedding now, and much of that responsibility falls to Mai, to her own dismay. However, she was not going to deny Suki the opportunity to accompany Zuko. She had not seen Sokka in months, and though she rarely complained, Mai could see the distance wearing on her.

"It take it your trip went well," she comments with just a hint of bemusement.

"It went better than that," Suki replies. Her hands are clenched behind her back, but Mai can tell that they are fidgeting.

"Well what is it?" Mai asks, raising her eyebrows. "What are you so anxious to tell me."

"Look!" Suki squeals. She pulls collar of her uniform to the side so reveal the blue band of a choker.

Mai narrows her eyes. "Is that…"

"Yes!" Suki replies. "It's a betrothal necklace."

Mai sighs. "The Water Tribes have the strangest customs," she comments. "It's like you're marked."

Suki ignores her. "Look," she adds, moving closer and pointing to the small stone. It is engraved with the image of a sun rising over a body of water. "It symbolizes the joining of the South Pole and Kyoshi Island," she explains. "Sokka said he forged it himself."

"He put a lot of thought into it," Mai replies. "I'll give him that."

"Come on," Suki prods. "I know you like him."

"He's bearable," Mai concedes. "His joke are…"

"Not very good," Suki finishes with a touch of resignation. "I know, but he's a good person. You should have seen him when we first met." She laughs. "I couldn't stand him. That lasted about a day, and then I completely humiliated him in front of the other Kyoshi Warriors, and his attitude improved a lot."

"I'm not surprised," Mai states dryly. "Ty Lee used to have a thing for him, you know."

Suki nods. "She told me."

"Of course," Mai continues. "Ty Lee had a thing for pretty much everyone."

Suki raises her brow, a smirk playing at her lips. "You?"

"Not me." She shakes her head, grinning faintly. "Azula."

Suki's smile falls away at once. "Azula?"

"Uh huh," Mai answers. "Not serious, I don't think. Like I said, Ty Lee had a thing for a lot of people." She remembers putting the pieces together when she noticed the way Ty Lee looked at Sokka, and realized it was the same way she sometimes looked at Azula. The feelings had been mutual of course, though Azula had probably been way to out of touch with her own emotions to realize what any of them really meant. It had been extremely entertaining to watch. It had almost made the fact that they all nearly died worth it.

"She didn't tell me that," Suki murmurs.

Mai shrugs. "I hardly find that surprising. She didn't want to tell you she used to have a crush on the girl who had you tortured in prison."

"How did you—"

Mai does not wait for her to finish the question. "We found you with the Avatar's flying bison. It made sense you might have known where he was. It's not hard to put two and two together. Especially when you know the Princess as well as I do."

Suki draws her brows together in thought.

"Look," Mai says. "It doesn't matter. It was a teenage crush. It's ancient history anyway. Forget I brought it up. You're engaged. Focus on that if it makes you so happy."

"It does," Suki replies, the smile returning to her face. Before Mai has time to see it coming, she throws her arms around the waist of the future Fire Lady. Mai stiffens at the sudden proximity. It was different with Ty Lee. Ty Lee threw herself at her friends constantly. She and Suki have never really had any significant physical contact. She uneasily lays a hand on her guard's back, barely touching the fabric of her uniform and hopes it is enough to convey her support.

"Come on," Suki pulls away and grasps her hands, and Mai wonders if she has forgotten that she is not interacting with Ty Lee, who would surely be jumping up and down in excitement right now, touching everyone who came within an arm's length. "Let's go out. I can celebrate my engagement and you can celebrate the fact that you're not married yet."

"That's a tempting offer." She lays her index finger on her chin as she considers it. She has just spent a week staring at pictures of ceremonial headdresses, each uglier than the next, and one of which she will have to wear in front of half the Fire Nation and numerous spectators from other nations as well. She deserves to take a night off. "Alright," she agrees. "But only if you can promise me this will be the wildest night of my life."

* * *

Ty Lee is astonished when another riot breaks out in the midst of winter. As Azula says, it is almost too cold to even go outside, and Ty Lee cannot fathom being angry enough about something to dress herself in several layers and march through the snow-covered streets yelling, when, as far as she knows, that has never done anyone any good before.

"Are we staying open?" she asks without looking up from the glass she is cleaning, when they hear the crowd approaching. At the end of the counter, she can see Azula's head shoot up, her attention peaked.

"We should," Wu Ling answers. "We did a lot of business last time, and nothing got broken."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ty Lee watches Azula disappear up the stairs. Honestly, Ty Lee is marginally surprised that Azula was even here to begin with. She has been sneaking off somewhere for hours at a time, usually more than once a week. Ty Lee does not know where, but she finds it exceedingly hard to believe that her friend has merely found herself a boy in the village.

They cannot see the mob making its way up the street because the windows are boarded up to protect from the cold, but Ty Lee and Wu Ling exchange worried looks as soon as they begin to swarm through the doorway. This group looks noticeably rougher than the last. It is comprised almost exclusively of large, angry men, a few women, no children at all, covered in stains of a sickening dark red. The man who appears to be the leader is missing several teeth and has a gash down his left cheekbone that appears to be relatively fresh. As he approaches the counter, she can tell that Wu Ling is thinking exactly the same thing as she is. _We should have closed._

"Forty-two firebreakers," he tells Wu Ling as he leans across the counter on his elbows. "Well," he says to Ty Lee once her employer has hurried away to make the drinks. "Aren't you a pretty little thing."

His breath already smells of alcohol. Sometimes, Ty Lee wonders if these riots are really only an excuse to get drunk and stir up trouble. She has the urge to back away from the counter, but she stands her ground, comforted in the knowledge that she can take him out if she really needs to.

"What, can't you talk?" he asks when she does not respond. "Nothing to say?"

"Is that blood?" she asks before she can stop herself. She points to a stain about the size of her fist on the shoulder of his jacket.

He drops his head back and lets out a laugh so thundering, Ty Lee thinks they can probably hear it in the florist's shop all the way at the end of the block. "Is that blood?" he repeats. "Well, what else would it be? See," he leans his head toward her and she tries not to wrinkle her nose as he breath warms her face. "They weren't too keen on serving us at the last bar," he tells her. "So we," he punches his right fist into the palm of his left hand and begins to crack his knuckles, "taught them a lesson about respect. If you catch my drift."

"I do," Ty Lee replies quickly.

"Ty Lee!" she hears Wu Ling call from the other end of the bar, where glasses of firebreakers are beginning to pile up. "I need you to help me with this!"

"Excuse me, sir," she murmurs politely as she backs away.

The rioters finish their first round of drinks more quickly than Ty Lee has ever seen a person consume a beverage, and their leader orders another round. Ty Lee does not like him, she has decided, and she likes almost everyone. He makes the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She is reluctant to turn her back to him. She is thankful that Azula went upstairs when she did. The two other female patrons who were in the bar when the group arrived have long since been chased out by off-color comments and wolf whistles.

It is well past closing time when the men finally start to stand up and stretch as they prepare to leave. Wu Ling sighs in relief as they slowly make their way to the door. Ty Lee can see the leader shuffling through the group, leaning close to his cronies heads and whispering something in their ears. She sees a pair of eyes glint over at her and then at Wu Ling. And then another pair of eyes. She realizes in the nick of time what is about to happen. She has just enough time to shift into her fighting stance and ready her hands.

In the blink of an eye, five men turn and throw themselves over the counter. This is too easy, she thinks as she plunges her left index finger into one man's shoulder blade and her right thumb into the back of another man's neck, and then lunges for the three men surrounding her employer. She has taken out an entire team of Dai Li agents. She will be okay. The five men fall to the floor at her feet.

And then they are all coming over the counter. She is moving her arms as quickly as she can, finding pressure points, trying to stay aware of what is happening all around her and trying to stay in front of Wu Ling. There are eight men behind the bar with them, she thinks. She does not have time to get an accurate count. One man falls and another takes his place. She backs against the shelf so that she does not have to guard her backside. They keep falling and they keep coming and they keep falling. She can do this all day.

"I'll kill him!"

She turns her head just long enough to get a glimpse of what is going on beside her, and her mouth falls open. The man missing several teeth is holding a long knife, the knife she uses for cutting poultry, to Wu Ling's throat. Time seems to stop as she realizes her shift in position exposed him.

"I'll kill him," he repeats. "Unless you come with us. Then he lives."

Ty Lee has always been blessed with the ability to think incredibly quickly when she really needs to. It is what makes her such a good fighter. Now, though, she cannot come up with a single idea.

She swallows, makes peace with her position, and then she holds her hands up, palms facing ahead of her.

Two men appear at each side, grabbing her arms, twisting them behind her back with painful force. There is no point. She will not resist as long as Wu Ling's life is endangered.

"Take them outside," the man orders, and then she is half walking and half being dragged into the street. She is vaguely aware that Wu Ling is receiving the same treatment several feet behind her.

They pin her on her back, hands above her head, and look over their shoulders as if they are waiting for something. Their capture was like a machine, each man knowing exactly when and where he was supposed to come into the fight. She wonders if they have done this before. She wonders if they have already done this _tonight_. Now she understands the fear of riots. Her first experience with one had been relatively tame. Now she knows.

She hears a crash from within the tavern. She thinks it might be the lock box that holds the money. She hopes they leave them alive when they are finished. She would hate for the scent of stale liquor and the filthy slush on the streets of the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se to be the last things she ever smells, and Wu Ling has a family, three children and a fourth on the way. She thinks maybe she could break free if she could only twist her body in just the right way, but the combined weight on her shoulders, wrists and ankles effectively immobilizes her.

"Where is it?" the man missing several teeth roars, suddenly appearing above them. He looks furiously between her and Wu Ling, pinned to the ground, albeit by considerably few men, to her left. "Where's the key to the lockbox?" Wu Ling shakes his head.

"I must have… I must have dropped it when you pulled me out here," her replies. It is a lie, and anyone with ears would be able to tell. The leader nods at one of the men pinning her shoulders into the slush. With a flash of reflected light, she is aware of a small knife being pressed into her neck harder and hard. She presses a trickle of something wet slide across her skin. They want to her cry out, she realizes, so that Wu Ling will talk. She presses her lips together.

There is an ear-splitting cracking sound, and the knife disappears. She breathes a sigh of relief. A moment later, she hears a whoosh and a thunk, followed by a lot of yelling. Weights lift from all over Ty Lee's body as the men begin to release her. She is suddenly free. She wants to move, but she feels dizzy. Her breath is coming in harsh gasps. Her face feels suddenly feels very wet. She did not realize she had been crying. When she opens her eyes, she is unable to focus, but she can make out a person swinging something that looks like a board engulfed in flames at her assailants. They are scattering like fire beetles. She lets her head fall back against the slush and blacks out.

* * *

"Ty Lee!"

She groans, shaking her head from side to side, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"Ty Lee!"

The voice is panicked. She cracks her eyes open. Azula is kneeling over her, her face contorted in concern. It is an odd look on the Princess.

"Azula?" she mutters as she begins to sit up.

"Are you okay?" Azula demands, her eyes searching Ty Lee's body for signs of injury. "Did they do anything to you."

"No." Ty Lee shakes her head. "I'm fine. I mean, one of them cut me a little bit, but I think it's just a nick. What… what happened to you?"

Azula's chin is bloodied and there is a long, dark bruise blossoming along her left cheekbone.

"It's nothing," she answers with a shrug. "Come on. We need to go inside."

Ty Lee rises shakily to her feet and leans on her friend's shoulder as they make their way back into the tavern. Wu Ling's eyes widen when they cross the threshold and he hurries to meet them. Ty Lee is relieve to see that he appears uninjured.

He guides them to the stools at the counter and busies himself lighting the stove and setting out ingredients. Minutes later, they each have their own meal sitting in front of them. Ty Lee eats silently and makes quite a mess. Her hands are shaking so hard, she can barely hold the spoon. She does not understand why she cannot stop shaking. Beside her, Azula hisses and her own spoon clatter to the ground.

"Az—Sima?" she asks softly, speaking for the first time since they entered the tavern. "Are you okay?"

Azula is staring at her hands, her eye growing wide. Her palms are red and raw, blisters beginning to form. Ty Lee gasps. "Sima, why didn't you say anything?"

"I…" Azula begins. "I didn't realize…"

"That's quite a burn," Wu Ling comments. He leans down and shuffles behind the counter for something. When he rises again, he is holding a bundle of cloth and a dusty jar of yellow-ish paste. "Luckily, burns I am prepared for."

Ty Lee watches as he dabs the paste on Azula's hands. Azula's mouth twitches but she does not make a sound. He winds the cloth around her palms and ties it of at each wrist. "There," he says. "I'll send this with you. You'll have to reapply the paste and change the bandages daily for a week, but your hands should be fine."

"How did it happen?" Ty Lee asks.

Azula glances over at her. "It must have been the board," she explains. "I ripped it off the window and lit it with the flame from the lamp. It was barely burning, but… when I jumped out the window, it just went up. I didn't… really notice at the time. I was more concerned about… other things."

Ty Lee watches as Azula gingerly picks up her bowl and tips the soup into her mouth. She gathers the paste and bandages in her arms and departs up the stairs without another word. Wu Ling waits until the door closes overhead before speaking.

"Ty Lee, is Sima okay?" His brow is furrowed in concern when she looks back at him. "She looks… well, she almost looks sick."

Ty Lee sighs. "I don't know Wu Ling. It's been a hard winter for her. I get her to eat as much as I can, and I try to make sure she sleeps, but I don't know what else to do."

"I know it's not my business," he continues. "But she always been like this?"

Ty Lee hesitates, unsure how to answer. "She's always been difficult," she finally decides. "But she seemed, well, not healthy exactly, but at least okay, until a few years ago, and then she had a breakdown and started talking to people who weren't there." She sighs and stares into her bowl. "I just wish I knew how to help her."

"Sometimes the only thing you can do is be there for someone when they need you," Wu Ling replies. "Just let me know if you girls need anything. I would pay for her to go see a doctor. She just saved me, after all." He holds up the lockbox and gives it a shake. "Those thieves didn't get a thing. But even with this, I can't afford that." With a flick of the rag in his hand, he shifts subjects. "We'll close next time," he promises her. "I never should have put turning a profit above your safety. I should have sent you upstairs when I decided to stay open."

"It's okay." Ty Lee tries to speak normally, but her voice comes out in a whisper. "You need the money. I understand."

"I want you to take tomorrow off," he continues. "Paid. Just… just use the time to rest, or do something fun. Whatever you feel like."

"Thank you," Ty Lee replies.

"I have to say," he chuckles after a moment. "You girls really surprised me. You took out twelve guys right here behind the counter in less than a minute, and there are six outside that I'm guessing came from Sima. You really weren't kidding when you said you could hold your own."

"We learned out to fight when we were little," Ty Lee replies distantly. It is not quite a lie. "Our situation didn't leave me with a lot of choice."

"I understand," he answers. "Rough part of town. Luckily I had two older brothers to take care of me, but my oldest daughter, she can already take out a guy almost twice her size, and she's only nine. I guess you had a rough time with all the Fire Nation colonists in Yu Dao, huh?"

Ty Lee nods, grateful for the excuse.

Wu Ling is silent for a long moment. "Ty Lee…" he finally sighs. "Sima's… she's not your cousin, is she?"

"What?" Ty Lee gasps. A million thoughts race through her head all at the same time. She knows she has slipped in front of Wu Ling more than once, but she always catches herself. She makes sure to whisper anytime she says Azula name in their apartment. She wonders if she should call up to Azula to make a run for it. She wonders how well Azula would be able to hear her.

"You know," he continues before she can make up her mind. "One of my brothers, he… didn't like women. It wasn't something we talked about, of course, but we knew."

Ty Lee's eyes widen as a wave of relief washes over her. They have not been found out after all. "No, Wu Ling," she shakes her head, "Sima and I aren't _together_."

"You know, I don't care what you do up there in the privacy of your apartment," Wu Ling assures her. "It's your business. I'll keep out of it. After a hundred years of war and death, and as torn up and miserable as this city is, if there's a little more love in the world, I'm not going to question it."

"That's very kind of you," Ty Lee replies. "But, Wu Ling, we're not."

"Well," he answers, dropping a hand onto her shoulder and squeezing. "Whatever the two of you are to each other, I'm glad you have someone in your life who cares about you so much, especially tonight."

* * *

"Ty Lee!"

She jerks awake as someone calls her name. When she opens her eyes, Azula's face is inches from hers and she nearly screams.

"Ty Lee," Azula repeats. "You had a nightmare." She states it so matter-of-factly that Ty Lee vaguely wonders if she is aware that she has been denying the existence of her own nightmares for nearly two months, and yet Ty Lee is still as confident about their existence as Azula sounds now.

She is coated in a cold sweat and when she sits up, she realizes just how violently she is shaking. She does not think she ever stopped shaking. A sob escapes her lips and she throws her arms around her companion. The shoulder of Azula's shirt is drenched within seconds, but she does not seem to notice. She just sits beside Ty Lee's bedroll and rubs a hand up and down her heaving back as she allows the acrobat to cling to her narrow shoulders as if her life depended on it.

"What was it about?" she finally asks. Her voice is soft, but it cuts through the darkness like a knife.

"Those men," Ty Lee answers breathlessly. Her chest aches from the force of her sobs and her throat already feels raw.

Azula growls in displeasure. She slides her arms around Ty Lee's back and holds her firmly in place. The action surprises Ty Lee, but she needs the comfort, the safety, she feels from being in Azula's arms far too much to question it.

"I—" She is cut off by a hiccup. "I never thanked your for saving me."

"You didn't have to," Azula replies.

Reluctantly, Ty Lee unwinds herself from around her Azula's body and places her hands on each of the Princess' cheeks. "Thank you, Azula. I mean it. More than I ever have before. I thought I was going to die."

This time, Azula surprises her by placing her hand on her back of her head and pulling Ty Lee back against her shoulder. "I wasn't going to let anything happen to you." Azula cradles her head there for a moment, rocking back and forth so gently Ty Lee almost does not notice, and then her companion's hand slides from her hair to her shoulder and pulls her back so she can study her.

"Would you like a cup of water?" Azula asks, her face as serious as when she was strategizing their coup in Ba Sing Se.

Ty Lee nods and Azula pushes herself up and goes into the washroom. She returns a moment later and pushes their one cup into the acrobat's hands. Ty Lee drinks it desperately, as if she has just spent a month lost in the Si Wong Desert. When she is finished, she places it carefully on the floor beside her bedroll and looks back at Azula. A pair of intense golden eyes stare back at her.

"You are so very special, Ty Lee."

If she had not heard it with her own ears she would not have believed it. She is still unsure she did not just imagine it. She is does not know how to respond, so she simply gasps. "Really?"

Azula nods her head sternly. There is a burning intensity in her expression, conviction mingled with fear mingled with some other emotion Ty Lee cannot place that looks entirely foreign on the face of her friend.

Azula leans toward her, plants her hands on Ty Lee's shoulders, and guides her down toward the pillow. "I know you don't want to," she breathes. "But you have to try to go back to sleep. Things will be… different in the morning. These things always look different in the light of day."

Ty Lee whimpers into the pillow and she feels Azula hand slide up and down her arm. "You're only going to make yourself worse if you try to stay up. Trust me."

"How do you know?" Ty Lee murmurs. She sounds like a small child, even more than usual, but she finds she does not care.

"I know everything," Azula replies, and Ty Lee allows herself a half-hearted giggle.

"I feel them," she whispers her admission after a moment's pause. "When I close my eyes. I feel their hands on me. I feel the knife at my neck."

Wordlessly, Azula turns and pulls her bedroll across the floor to that it is nearly touching Ty Lee's. She clasps the acrobat's hand in her own, touches her lips to the back of her palm in a display of affection Ty Lee will question the implications of the next morning, and lies her head against her own pillow.

"Don't let go," Ty Lee demands, almost ashamed of how desperate she sounds.

"I won't," Azula promises.

Ty Lee falls into an uneasy sleep, but when she wakes the next morning, still feeling thoroughly exhausted, Azula's hand is still folded protectively around her own.


	9. Fate Is Magical

Ty Lee is in the middle of serving dinner when she first hears thunder. Her back straightens and she can feel her ears perk up. Another roll of thunder. She hopes Azula is okay. She can hardly leave in the middle of the dinner rush. Maybe the storm will simply pass over.

True to the luck they have been having all winter, minutes later rain is pouring into the dirt streets outside, spraying through the space between the door and its frame. Patrons hurry through the door soaked to the bone. The small crowd in the tavern densifies with unfortunate passers-by simply looking for a refuge from the storm.

The thunder grows nearer. Through the gaps in the boarded-up windows, Ty Lee can see the sky light up. She hears a rustling noise overhead. She reboarded the window upstairs, she tells herself. Perhaps Azula is not even aware of the lightning.

Ty Lee's hope is killed when the next crack of thunder is loud enough to make everyone in the tavern jump. She hears a door slam, and then, in the blink of an eye, her roommate flies down the stairs and through the dining area, out the door.

"Wu Ling…" Ty Lee gasps.

"Go after her," he replies without waiting to hear the question.

She is over the counter and halfway through the door in a second. "Thank you, Wu Ling!" she calls as she crosses the threshold.

The street is a river of mud. To her right, she can see Azula already halfway down the block, mud covering her dress from her knees down, running in the direction of an enormous black cloud. Right into the storm.

"Sima!" she calls desperately. "Come back!" She wishes she could use Azula's name. She thinks her friend might be more responsive if she could, but she will not risk blowing their cover. They have not spent five months living in poverty in the ghetto of what is supposed to be the greatest city in the world for nothing.

Azula rounds a corner and sprints down a narrow alley, jumping trash bins and broken pieces of furniture with surprising agility.

"Sima, what are you doing?" Ty Lee calls after her, thankful that her time with the Kyoshi Warriors has kept her in tune with the maneuverability she gained in the circus. She is nearing Azula now, only a few arm's lengths away. For a moment, she considers simply jumping on the Princess, forcing her to the ground, but she does not want to hurt her.

They are coming to a square, and then they are suddenly in the open, ever-decrepit buildings surrounding them in a wide circle, a deep well in the middle, surrounded like a moat by a pool of water for livestock. To Ty Lee's shock, Azula stops dead. The acrobat skids through the mud and narrowly avoids knocking the Princess to the ground. She is coated in mud now, but she hardly notices as she hurries to pull herself off the ground.

"This is what you want!" Azula screams at the sky. Her face is wet, but Ty Lee cannot tell if she is crying or if it is just from the rain. "You wanted me to face you! You wanted me to accept my consequences with honor! Here I am!"

"Sima, stop!" Ty Lee pleads with her. She is hesitant to touch the Princess, terrified that any physical contact might be perceived as the threat.

"I've come to face you!" Azula continues, her voice growing higher and higher. "Just you and me, Father! Agni kai!"

She is going to blow their cover, Ty Lee realizes. Maybe she just did. "Azula," she whispers is a desperate last attempt to get her friend's attention. "Please."

To her own surprise, Azula turns to face her. "I have to do this, Ty Lee," she growls. "We'll never be safe until I do. I'm tired of running. I am not _weak_."

"You don't have to do anything," Ty Lee answers. Hesitantly, she reaches up to place a hand on either side of the Princess' face, palms cupping her jaw, fingers tangling in the hair behind her ears. She is smearing mud all over Azula's neck and cheeks, but she does not much care at the moment. "Listen to me, Azula," she pleads. "Your father is dead. You don't have to do anything. You're safe from him. You have been for years."

Azula shakes her head furiously. "You're wrong," she insists. "He's here. He's toying with me. I have to come forward. I have to face him honorably." When she looks back up, her eyes glisten. "I would rather fight and die with dignity than be pulled out of some shack crying and screaming. I won't be _pathetic_. Not again."

"You've never been pathetic," Ty Lee whispers fiercely. "You're the strongest person I know. But you don't have to do this. Please, Azula. Let's go back home."

"You go home, Ty Lee," Azula snarls, wrenching her face from the acrobat's grasp and beginning to turn her back. "I'll handle this alone. Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She is yelling again. "I know you're watching! I know this is the moment you've been waiting for! I know you want to put an end to your ruined daughter, once and for all! Well, here I am! I'm all yours!"

"Azula," Ty Lee pleads a little louder than she intends as she catches Azula's hand. Her eyes flit around the square for some sign of movement, some sign that anyone is around to hear them, but it remains still and deserted, only disturbed by the harsh slapping sounds of rain hitting wood and stone and mud. "I'm not leaving you, but you have to know, no one is coming."

"He'll be here," Azula insists, whirling back around to face her. "I know he will. He has to be. You're not just going to leave me standing here are you?" she shouts at the sky. "Not after everything you've told me!"

Ty Lee brushes her sopping bangs out of her face and pulls Azula to her, arms trapped at her sides. "He's coming," she is repeating. "He's coming. He'll be here. I know he will."

Ty Lee sways back and forth at a slow rhythm, forcing Azula to move with her. She can feel her friend's rapid, ragged breath hitch. "I just want him to leave me alone," she admits as her voice cracks. "I just want to feel like me again."

"I know," Ty Lee answers sadly, burrowing her head into her friend's neck and wishing desperately that there was more she could do to help, but she has long since learned that there is no way to protect a person from their own mind, no matter how much you care about them. "I know."

* * *

For the first time in nearly a week, Ty Lee wakes up screaming. It has not been an uncommon occurrence since the night of the riot just over a month ago. Azula's bedroll is still pulled close enough that Ty Lee can grip onto her hand in the middle of the night, which she usually does once she is sure the other girl is asleep, though she no longer believes their sleeping arrangement is solely for her benefit. More than once, she has woken up to moisture on the back of her palm, her roommate curled into a ball and pulling their clasped hands in toward her stomach as soft sobs wrack her body. She never says anything, never even moves. She is afraid to reveal that she knows, because then her friend might stop seeking solace in her, and all Ty Lee wants is to help in any way she can, even if she has to pretend to be asleep to do so. Besides, she really does not know what she would say.

"Ty Lee?" Azula shoots up beside her.

"I'm okay," Ty Lee answers, waving her hand. "Just a nightmare."

"You haven't had one in a while," Azula comments, lying back down, and, with a hand on her shoulder, pulling Ty Lee down beside her.

"Five days," Ty Lee replies. "I thought maybe they'd stopped."

To her surprise, Azula laughs. "Did you?"

"Yours did," Ty Lee points out. "Remember when you were having—"

"I never had nightmares," Azula cuts her off. "How many times do I have to say it before you believe it?"

Ty Lee folds her arms and fixes her with a skeptical look out of the corner of her eye. "I know what I saw."

Azula sighs. "Just because something doesn't wake you up anymore doesn't mean it's not still happening," she says before rushing to add, "Not that I would know that from personal experience."

"No, of course not. "Ty Lee rolls her eyes. "It doesn't make you weak, you know."

"Nonsense," Azula snaps. "Fear is a weakness."

Ty Lee brushes off the comment. "It just makes you human."

"Being human is a weakness," Azula mutters.

Ty Lee nods, a hesitant smile playing on her lips. "That's all it is."

"Tell me, Ty Lee." Azula drops her head to the side to look at her friend. "Are you alright with being weak?"

The acrobat shrugs. "I don't think I am." Her fingers find Azula's hand, scarred and a little rough from holding a board engulfed in flame, and she gives it a squeeze, memories clouding her head of all the times she has watched Azula cry herself to sleep when she was supposed to be asleep herself. "And I don't think you are either."

Azula laughs again, but it comes out more like a bark. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm telling the truth," Ty Lee promises.

"I don't know how you can think that when…" Azula trails off, gritting her teeth.

"Bad things happen to everyone," Ty Lee replies. "Strong people, weak people, all kinds of people, and everyone's allowed to be upset about it. I have an idea."

"What?" Azula asks. "Please tell me it's not some sort of trust exercise."

Ty Lee giggles. "No, Azula, once was enough for that. I was just thinking, maybe we should go out."

"Out?" Azula raises a confused eyebrow. "What do you mean _out?_ "

"Like to a tavern or something," Ty Lee explains enthusiastically. "One that I don't work at. It'll be fun." She sees Azula roll her eyes at the familiar assurance. "It's just… we've both had kind of a hard winter. You always seem so unhappy now. I just… thought maybe we deserved it or something."

"How do you propose we pay for this… this _outing?_ " Azula still looks skeptical.

Ty Lee shrugs. "I'll work an extra day or something."

"You already work six days a week."

"The offer's there, okay?" Ty Lee asks. "Take it or leave it."

Azula breathes a long, withering sigh. "I suppose it wouldn't be horrible."

"Great!" she exclaims. "We'll go tomorrow night."

"That soon?"

"Yes!" Ty Lee squeals. "This is so exciting!"

Azula rolls her eyes and waits until Ty Lee settles down beside her before asking, "Will you be able to go back to sleep alright?"

It has been extremely odd, this past month, seeing Azula be so attentive, so caring, so genuine. It has not been all the time, of course. Mostly just when she wakes up with nightmares, or during the panic attack she had had the day after the riot. It has been nice.

Ty Lee smiles and brings Azula's hand, still clasped in hers, to her chin. "I think I'll be okay."

* * *

"Ughhh!"

The door slams shut, and she can hear someone stomping around, but Mai does not sit up. "What happened now?"

"Look what Kuei's doing." Zuko's voice is coming from somewhere near her face, and when she opens her eyes, a large piece of paper with an expertly drawn portrait of Azula in her prime is staring down at her, the words, _Wanted: Dead or Alive_ , printed across the top.

Mai sighs. It had been only a matter of time. Kuei had known of Azula's supposed escape for over a month now. Frankly, she had begun to wonder what was taking him so long. "Well, what did you expect?"

Zuko sighs, and she can hear his resignation. "I don't know." The mattress dips as he falls on his back onto the bed beside her. "I guess I should have seen this coming."

"Well, you did tell him your sister, who already overthrew his government once, was running around who-knows-where without supervision," Mai points out. "Of course he was going to try to find her."

"Yeah." Zuko runs a hand down his face.

"Hey." Mai rests a hand on his forearm. "If he's looking for her, that means the Dai Li haven't found them. At least we know that."

"I just didn't expect to be this worried all the time," he admits.

Mai allows herself to chuckle. "Don't tell Azula that when you see her again," she advises. "You'll never hear the end of it."

Her groans. "We could have at least given them some money or something."

"You know why we couldn't do that," Mai reminds him. "They were supposed to be walking into Ba Sing Se as refugees. How would it have looked if the guards had searched them at the ferry waystation and uncovered a small fortune. Their escape would have been over before it had even started. Besides," she adds. "Where would you have even gotten Earth Nation money discretely at that time of the night? You would have had to pull the Capital City Bank manager out of bed, and you know he wouldn't have kept that to himself for long." She rubs her hand up and down his arm. "So don't beat yourself up over it. They're probably better off this way. At least we know they've managed to stay hidden."

Zuko rolls so he is on his side facing her. "Hey, Mai?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I made the right decision, sending her away?"

She lets her eyes flutter closed again as she decides how to answer. "Well, I did tell you to, so it's pretty safe to say I was in favor of that course of action," she reminds him. A pause. "I think you did what you could in a situation where there were no good options, no matter how any of us looked at it."

"You know, if he finds her, I'll never forgive myself," he comments.

Mai shakes her head. "Ty Lee will never let that happen. As soon as she sees the flyers, they'll be out of the city on the next ferry. She'll take down the entire Dai Li and scale the wall if she has to. The Earth Kingdom is a big place. They'll be able to get lost somewhere."

"Dead or alive, Mai." He runs his hands through his hair, and for one awful moment, she thinks he might be about to cry. She has never had any idea what to do with tears. On the rare occasions that Azula cried, she preferred that Mai ignore it, and Ty Lee was always extremely easy to comfort. Mai had always pretty much just stood there and allowed Ty Lee to wrap her arms around her waist and let all of her emotions out on her shoulder until she ran out of tears.

"They won't find her," she assures him. "I bet Kuei doesn't even think they'd be able to get into Ba Sing Se. I bet he's not even looking for them there."

Zuko rolls over farther, so that his face is buried in his pillow. "You don't really think that."

Mai shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She rests her hand on her fiancé's back. "Zuko, don't you think you're being just a little overdramatic?"

"No."

She sighs in exasperation. "If Kuei finds her, we'll be the first to hear about it. He's not just going to execute her in secret. He'll want to make a spectacle out of the trial so that everyone can see what happens when you mess with the Earth Kingdom or something like that. That will give you time. You can get Aang on it. Kuei practically eats out of his hand. Listen to me." She slides her hands up to his shoulders and leans in close to his ear. "If Kuei finds her, we'll work it out. She'll be okay. I promise you."

Mai will go after Kuei herself if she has to. Not that she can tell that Fire Lord that. Plausible deniability is important, after all.

* * *

They go to a tavern one street over. All in all, most of the drinking establishments in the Lower Ring are about the same. They are all in some building that is barely holding itself together, furnished with a few rickety tables and a counter. This tavern has music though, an out of tune old piano and someone playing a pippa. Ty Lee has heard music wafting out onto the street as she walked past. The space is no larger than the Lazy Badgermole, but the tables and chairs are pushed against the wall to make room for dancing.

"Come on," Ty Lee urges, beaming as she seizes Azula wrist and pulls her inside and straight up to the counter. "Two tactus juice tonics please."

"I don't like this," Azula mumbles, and Ty Lee catches the woman behind the bar throwing her a dirty look.

"Give it a chance, Sima," Ty Lee replies. "This will be fun. I promise. If you don't have a good time, I promise to never drag you to the zoo with me again."

Azula raises an eyebrow. "Haven't we already been to the zoo?"

"Yes," Ty Lee answers. "But I still haven't seen any of the summer animals yet."

"You can't just go with Usi?" Azula grumbles.

"Oh, actually… umm," Ty Lee suddenly becomes very interested in the hem on her sleeve. "I haven't seen Usi in a while. Or Nato. Or Akki."

"What?" Azula demands with a level of interest that takes Ty Lee by surprise. "Since when?"

She sighs and maintains eye contact with the end of her right sleeve. "Since the riot."

"Oh." She feels fingers fumbling with the folds in her skirt until they find her hand. "Are you alright?" Azula sounds oddly businesslike when she asks, but Ty Lee can hear a tenderness in her voice that, she is surprised to realize, she is becoming more and more accustomed to.

She nods. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She takes a deep breath and forces herself to meet Azula's eyes. They are wide and intense, like she is searching Ty Lee for a lie. "I'm fine. I promise."

Azula gives a sharp nod. "Good." She turns to the counter, where two glasses filled with a clear liquid are now waiting, and passes one of them to Ty Lee.

Ty Lee tips her head back and consumes the entire beverage in one gulp. She would like to blame her prowess at drinking on working in a tavern for nearly five months, but, truth be told, she learned how to hold her liquor while she was with the circus, in a different Earth Kingdom town every other week with new boys and new girls, the youngest performer and desperate to fit in.

It takes Azula longer to finish her drink, and she grimaces after every sip. Ty Lee considers asking her if she has ever even consumed alcohol before, but then she remembers that, of course the Princess must be accustomed to fine wines, expensive and aged, not drinks that cost two bronze pieces in a mice-infested bar.

Finally, Azula slams her drink on the counter. Ty Lee orders two more and they find a table. It is still early in the evening. Only two couples are on the dance floor, both moving in some convoluted form of a waltz, probably passed down in their families for generations, since Ty Lee is quite certain that no one in this building, save for herself, has ever taken a dance lesson. Lately, she has found herself wishing she had just been born here. She would not have had the dresses or the dance classes or the nannies, but maybe she would have had two honest and hard-working parents. Maybe her sisters would have cared about their marriage prospects a little less and their youngest sister a little more. Maybe she would have some dead-end job that was frustrating and monotonous, but put food consistently on the table. Maybe she would be seeing some nice boy from two blocks over, whom she grew up climbing trees with. Her eyes flit to the woman seated across from her.

She grew up climbing trees with Azula.

Of course, that is completely different. Her crush on Azula had been fleeting, just as her crush on Sokka had been. It had lasted just long enough for Mai to poke fun at it, but not so long that it had caused her any particular anguish when they'd parted ways. Well, no more than could be expected, given that she'd been thrown in prison by a lifelong friend.

"Did you ever like anyone when we were younger?" The question slips out of her mouth before she has time to stop it. It is foolish really, and she has not even had enough to drink to blame the alcohol.

Azula raises her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Did you ever, you know, like anyone?"

Azula's shoulders stiffen and her lips contort into an odd grimace. "No," she answers sharply. "I grew up fighting a war, Ty Lee. I didn't have time for such childish things as romance."

"Oh," Ty Lee mutters, a little disappointed but altogether unsurprised. "I didn't think so."

"Did you?" The question surprises her. Azula had shown very little interest in her conquests in the Earth Kingdom, past laughing at her for being easy.

She takes a sip of her drink. "I liked Sokka for a while, while we were, you know, chasing them."

"Well, of course." Azula waves her hand and leans back against the wall. Her fingers twitch against her glass. "We all knew that. There wasn't anyone else?"

"Nope," Ty Lee lies with a shrug. It is an easy lie, really. It was so long ago. "No one else."

"I see."

Ty Lee finishes her second drink, and by the time Azula has finished hers, the empty space in the tavern has filled in. "I have an idea," she announces with a grin.

Azula scowls. "Why do I feel like you're about to ask me to do something I you know I would never consent to doing?"

"Because it'll be fun." Ty Lee is positively beaming. "Let's dance."

"Absolutely not." The reply is out of Azula mouth almost as soon as Ty Lee has finished making the request. "I don't dance."

Ty Lee goes up on her toes and leans close to whisper in her friend's ear, "Maybe Princess Azula doesn't dance, but Sima might like it."

"She certainly does not." Azula crosses her arms firmly.

"Come on, please?" Ty Lee begs, her bottom lip jutting out in an expression she imagines looks completely childish. "It's our night out. If you don't like it, I'll never make you do it again."

Azula heaves a long-suffering sigh that reminds Ty Lee forcefully of Mai. "Fine," her companion growls. "One song."

"Yay!" Ty Lee exclaims. She claps her hands together before seizing Azula's and pulling her out into the center of the floor.

As it turns out, Ty Lee was quite right to assume that Azula had never spent a second in her life dancing. While the acrobat spins is circles and sways in time with the jig, Azula shifts nervously from foot to foot, occasionally glancing around to make sure no one is watching her.

"That's not how you do it," Ty Lee points out. She grasps the Princess' hands and pulls her into an elaborate routine that Azula can barely follow. "You have to feel the music," Ty Lee calls. "Let it carry you."

"I'm about to let it carry me straight out the door," Azula grumbles, and Ty Lee laughs.

"You'll get the hang of it. You just need a little practice."

Azula scoffs. "Something I never intend to do."

"Suit yourself," Ty Lee replies. "But you're going to look pretty ridiculous when you get married to some noble boy and you can't impress all his relatives with your first dance." She giggles. "I bet even Zuko can outstrip you."

" _Zuko_ will never best me at anything," Azula snarls, and she puts much more effort into matching Ty Lee's steps.

* * *

They exit the bar into the chilly air of early spring in the Earth Kingdom right at the time of night when the streets are deserted because everyone who is going somewhere is already there, but no one is leaving for home quite yet.

"Come on," Ty Lee says, winding her arm around Azula's elbow and marveling about how much bonier it is now than it once was. "This way."

"But we live that way," Azula protests, nodding her head in the other direction.

"We're not going home yet," Ty Lee answers simply. "The night is young."

Azula sighs and allows herself to be dragged down the empty streets. It is nice being surrounded by the night sometimes, when it is peaceful. The stars gleam overhead, the street is lit by the soft glow of cheerful yellow and green lanterns, and laughter drifts out the windows of the taverns. She thinks, not for the first time, though she is unwilling to admit it, that maybe, if things had gone differently, if she had not been forced to defile herself and Ty Lee had not been hurt, she could have gotten used to life in this city. It is a realization she has come to grudgingly and with as much resistance as she could muster. It seems especially possible tonight, with the snow finally melted and Ty Lee on her arm.

She can make out lights up ahead and her friend quickens their pace without warning. "There it is," she cries, bouncing with enthusiasm.

They enter a square, not unlike the one Azula found during the storm, but its perimeter is marked with tall lanterns, and in the center sits a fountain, dozens of candles floating in its water like the fairies in the fantasy stories her mother used to tell her and Zuko, until her father put an end to it because _"stories are for peasant children who don't have anything better to think about."_

"Welcome to Firelight Fountain," Ty Lee squeals, dropping Azula's elbow to clasp her hands under her chin. She bounces on the balls of her feet unable to contain her enthusiasm. Azula finds it absolutely ridiculous, a complete overreaction, and yet, she is unable to look away. "I wanted to wait until it was kind of warm out again," she explains. "So the fountain wouldn't be frozen."

Azula strides to the fountain and runs her fingers through the water. She scoops out a candle. She can barely change the direction of the flickering flame. "Sima, what are you doing?"

She looks over her shoulder at Ty Lee before shrugging in shame and setting the candle back on the water. "I just… wanted to see if maybe…" she sighs and her shoulders deflate. "It's just been a while since I've tried."

"I know it's hard," Ty Lee whispers, and though Azula's head is turn, she can hear the other girl approaching her. "But you can't do that anymore."

Azula sighs. "I know."

Ty Lee's slender arms slip back around Azula's elbow. "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful," Azula admits. "I didn't think I'd ever see something more stunning than the Gates of Azulon."

"Especially not in some slum in the Earth Kingdom," Ty Lee finishes Azula's thought, though she had not been planning on voicing it. "Zuko told me stories about this place. It's supposed to be very romantic, you know. He said while he was living in the city—you know, when he was hiding from us—he met a girl and she brought him here. Apparently, her parents used to come here to meet secretly before they were married."

"How quaint," Azula comments.

"It's adorable," Ty Lee argues. "I know you think so. I can see you blushing."

"I do _not_ blush," Azula snaps, though she knows she is. She can feel the heat in her face.

Ty Lee ignores the obviously lie without questioning it. "I think this place is just magical."

Azula has to admire her awe. She does not understand, has never understood, how someone who has seen the things Ty Lee has seen and done the things Azula has made her do can still have such a positive outlook on… on everything. Her mouth is curved gently into a contented smile as she takes in the scene around her, her face softly illuminated by the candles, wide, grey eyes glowing silver in their light. She is _beautiful_. As stunning as the fountain itself.

_You are so very special, Ty Lee_. Her own words ring in her head as she stares at her friend, so alive and colorful and _whole_ , while Azula feels like a gaping pit, eating away at herself from the inside out.

Ty Lee is running her fingers through the water in of the fountain now, disrupting the candles like she is stirring the stars, and absently humming a tune that they danced to back in the tavern. "This night has been perfect," she murmurs to no one in particular. She straightens up and turns back to Azula. "I know you hate that I dragged you out, but I think this night has been perfect."

"I didn't _hate_ it," Azula admits, unable to stop the corners of her lips from turning up when Ty Lee's face breaks into a wide beam. She sighs and rubs at the back of her neck with her free arm. She feels like she should say something to top the night off, but she has no idea what. The person whom she would normally trust to help her with such matters is standing right here, gazing up at her with a smile so stunningly gorgeous that makes her heart break. Finally, she lets out the breath she is holding and mutters a faltering, "I'm glad you're here."

Ty Lee giggles. "I'm glad I am too." And then she feels a soft pair of lips on her cheek. It is quick, much too quick in Azula's opinion. As soon as the acrobat breaks contact she wants it back, wants the jolt of electricity that shot through her veins, the likes of which she has not felt since she last summoned lightning in a podunk little village in the forests of the rural Fire Nation almost two years ago.

She turns her head in shock, Ty Lee is gazing up at her, eyes shining with enthusiasm, and before Azula can stop herself, before she can think about how she feels or what it will mean, she is cupping her hand behind the acrobat's neck at the base of her skull, angling her head up as she leans forward until their lips meet.

She has only ever kissed one person before. Chan was… strange. Their kiss had been a product of her jealousy, both of the attention that Ty Lee was receiving and the attention she was bestowing in return. It had not been entirely unpleasant, but his lips had been too unyielding, his face too rough. He had made her feel small, and in return she had unveiled her firebending abilities to build herself back up again. Ty Lee makes her feel real and free and _safe_. Ty Lee always makes her feel safe, and that is all Azula wants, for once in her life.

Ty Lee's lips melt into her own. Her breath warms Azula's cheek. Her bangs tickle Azula's forehead. Her arms are trapped, hands squeezed into fists, awkwardly between them, due to the lack of notice. Azula can wrap a single arm around her waist and feel her small body pressed against her side, can feel the divots of her spine against her arm and the jut of a hip bone under her fingers, and she never wants to let go.

Ty Lee gasps when the Princess finally pulls away, her cheeks flushed and her brows knitted together in confusion. "Azula?"

"I just…" she drops her arm from Ty Lee's waist at once and takes a step back. "I just wanted to… I thought…" She is scrambling for words to fix this. She cannot get a complete sentence out, and she is so irritated with herself. She once seduced this city away from Long Feng in a single day, but she does not know what to say to her best friend after kissing her.

"Come on, Azula," Ty Lee whispers, wrapping her arms once again around the Princess' elbow. "Let's go home."

She will not look at Azula as they retrace their steps back through the streets. People are beginning to trickle out of taverns now. She can feel the acrobat's hands fidgeting nervously on her sleeve. She moves her free hand to cover one of Ty Lee's, and she does not pull away. Azula supposes she should find this reassuring, but instead she merely feels like she is falling every time she looks over and Ty Lee will not meet her eyes.


	10. Fate Is Vigilant

It was late when they returned to their room. Azula had dropped immediately to her bedroll, her back facing Ty Lee's, much to her disappointment, and after suppressing several yawns, Ty Lee had decided to call it a night as well. She had hoped to speak with Azula about what happened at the fountain in the morning. Now, however, sitting across from her roommate, gnawing on a piece of potato, she is having trouble making the words come out.

Truth be told, she has no idea what she feels. She had had a crush on Azula at fourteen, of course. Mai had made fun of her for it because it was much better bait for jokes than her simultaneous crush on Sokka had been, but she was fourteen, her hormones raging. She had not cared at the time about the danger, the frustration, the hurt that certainly would have accompanied being engaged in any sort of intimate relationship with the Princess of the Fire Nation. Not to mention she had never dreamed in a million years that her feelings would be returned.

She is eighteen years old now. She has a job and an apartment and several boys she can go to whenever she wants. And Azula is not the same person. She still has a tongue sharp as a blade and enough wit to outsmart all of the world leaders at once, but she seems to have at least a peripheral awareness of others' feelings now. She is much less power-crazed. It is probably because Zuko has been her primary source of human contact for the past three years, Ty Lee realizes, as opposed to Ozai. That and the loss of her bending.

But Ty Lee's feelings for Azula are gone. They disappeared sometime during her stint in the Boiling Rock, and they're not coming back.

Are they?

Maybe if Ty Lee only knew how she felt, the words would come to her. She has never been lost for words before.

For her part, Azula is not making eye contact. She has been completely silent all morning. Ty Lee cannot tell if it is out of anger or shame or confusion. She merely eyes the potato she is holding. She has been nibbling on it for nearly half an hour and barely any of it is gone. Azula does not eat much these days, no matter how much food Ty Lee shoves into her hands. It is extremely distressing.

"Azula, you need to eat." It is becoming a common phrase in their makeshift household. Ty Lee pleading with Azula to eat, to sleep. It is like the Princess is about to self-destruct again, and Ty Lee has no idea how to stop it.

Sighing, Azula bites a large chunk off of the potato, but after very deliberately chewing and swallowing, she goes back to simply staring at it again.

"Azula, why won't you tell me what's going on?" Ty Lee prods. "I know this isn't about what happened last night. You've been doing this for months now."

"Nothing is going on," Azula repeats, rolling her eyes in a way that might have convinced Ty Lee three years ago. Now she just crosses her arms and raises a skeptical brow.

"Then why won't you eat the pota—"

Ty Lee is interrupted by a knock at the door. With a groan, she pushes herself off the floor and goes to answer it.

"Wu Ling?" She cocks her head to the side. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Wu Ling answers. His eyes are wide, confused and a little afraid. "There are some people downstairs for you." He lowers his voice to a whisper. "Dai Li agents. Do you have any idea what this is about? They asked for you by name."

"No," Ty Lee answers slowly. Her heart is suddenly racing as she attempts to plan an exit strategy on the fly. "I'll be down in a minute," she lies. "I just need to… wash up."

"I'll tell them," Wu Ling answers.

She thanks him and closes the door. When she looks over, Azula is already on her feet shoving their belongings into the old sack, the potato laying on the floor, forgotten. Ty Lee rushes into the washroom and pulls the string of beads of the mirror, gathers the playing cards on the table, and rips the mobile from the ceiling. After a second thought, she grabs the flute she once bought for Azula, still gathering dust where it landed when she threw it all those months ago, and shoves it in the bag. Azula is kneeling on the ground rolling up the bedrolls.

"We don't have time for that," Ty Lee argues in a loud whisper. "Just shove the blankets in here. It'll be cold tonight."

She turns and, as quickly and quietly as she can, begins to rip the pieces of wood from the window. She can hear voices downstairs. They still sound cheerful. With any luck, Wu Ling has distracted the men with something alcoholic, something that will slow them down.

"They're going to hear us when we hit the ground," Ty Lee whispers urgently. "Go right. Run towards the zoo. We need to get out of the Lower Ring."

"Or we could fight," Azula replies. "Why run? We know we can take them."

"That's not the point," Ty Lee argues. "They know we're here now. We can't stay." She climbs up on to the window sill, Azula beside her. "At the count of three," she begins. "One, two—"

"Now!" Azula cries, leaping from the window. Ty Lee is just behind her, and they hit the ground within a second of each other.

"Come on," Azula hisses, already standing, trying to run and pull Ty Lee off the ground at the same time. She slings the bag over her shoulder and stumbles to her feet, and they break into a sprint.

Ty Lee knows that the Dai Li have started after them when a wall of earth rises from the street, blocking their path. Without a word, Azula grabs her hand and guides her down the nearest alley. Ty Lee topples waste bins and abandoned pieces of furniture behind them as they run.

When they emerge back onto the street, Azula does not drop Ty Lee's hand. She pulls her at a diagonal toward another alley. They continue like this, every street taking the next alley over. By the time they emerge from the fourth alley, Ty Lee understands why. They will be more difficult to spot in an alley than on the main street. Azula is taking advantage of the fact that they know the neighborhoods of the Lower Ring better than the Dai Li.

They are panting by the time they reach the wall. Ty Lee leans heavily against it and crosses her arms over her stomach. Azula is nearly doubled over trying to catch her breath.

"We need… to keep going," Ty Lee says, though she makes no move to do so. "I think… the gates to the zoo… are that way."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Azula snaps, snatching Ty Lee's hand back and pulling her along the wall as quickly as her legs will carry her. Azula is nearly wheezing but she presses on. Azula has always pressed on. Sometimes, Ty Lee thinks it is this determination at the expense of everything else that was her downfall in the first place.

For a moment, Ty Lee thinks that they will make it to the gate unimpeded. She can almost see it. It is just past the next well, just a few blocks over.

Three Dai Li agents run out of an alley in front of them. One of the men spots them and yells something to the others. Ty Lee cannot hear what. She is already flipping through the air, poised to sink her fingers into the spot behind his shoulder blade.

She is thrown off course when a platform of earth rises from the ground. It catches her in the side and she topples to the street. When she pulls herself back to her feet, Azula is engaged in combat with two of the men. The forms she is running through are familiar, but where they once produced flames, her fists and feet now make contact with the bodies of the Dai Li agents.

The remaining man is approaching her. He squeezes his fists, raises his hands, and the earth rises around her, forming makeshift shackles around her wrists. Behind him, one agent is on the ground. Azula is still on her feet, still fighting the other. A large rock flies through the air and collides with her shoulder, and she stumbles backwards. Ty Lee prays that there will be a way out of this for her. If she can just get past that last man, she can make it to the zoo and into the Agrarian Zone. She is so close.

"How did you get into Ba Sing Se?" the man in front of her is demanding. "Did the Fire Lord assist you? Did the Avatar?"

Ty Lee pulls at the earth entrapping her hands, but all she feels are jagged rocks cutting into her wrists.

"How long have you been here?" the man is still asking. "How many have you tried to recruit to your cause—"

Ty Lee looks up when he breaks off. She is unable to suppress a gasp. Azula is clutching the agent by his hair, forcing him to his knees, a knife—the same one she'd used to make carvings in the table at their apartment—pressed to his neck. Behind her, the bodies of the other two men are sprawled on the street, their limbs outstretched at awkward angles. "Let her go!" she shrieks. She presses the knife more forcefully into the man's neck. "Let her go!"

The man clenches his teeth together. He glances around desperately, as if he is expecting to see allies running toward him. Finally, he squeezes his eyes shut and unclenches his fists. Ty Lee finds her arms suddenly free.

Before she has even had time to catch her breath, the final man is on the ground and Azula is pulling her up by the collar of her shirt. "Come on," she hisses. "Their friends are probably not far."

Ty Lee grips her side as she runs. She can feel something warm and wet under her dress. Still, she pushes herself forward until they are through the gate.

Azula slows to a walk as soon as they are in the zoo. It might be a while before the Dai Li realizes they are no longer in the Lower Ring. They do not want to attract attention and speed up the process. Ty Lee weaves her arms through Azula's elbow as if they are merely friends on a day trip, and they walk straight past habitats with camelephants, eel hounds, and a flying fishopotamus, to the far end of the zoo and directly into a wheat field.

"Now what?" Azula demands as soon as they are under the cover of the crops. "How do you suggest we get to the other side of the wall?"

Ty Lee sighs. The walls is miles away, but even so, it looms over them, reaching into the sky. "I guess we could… try to tunnel under it?" she suggests.

Azula rolls her eyes. "That's ridiculous. We'd never be able to get deep enough before someone saw us. Don't you think I considered that before I decided to run a drill through it?"

Ty Lee's eyes widen. "Azula, you're a genius!"

"I know I am," Azula replies, and Ty Lee rolls her eyes.

"They left the drill there. They just built a wall around the part that's still outside the city."

"So?" Azula crosses her arms.

"So, that wall is shorter," Ty Lee exclaims. "We can get into the drill on this side of the wall, walk to the other end of it, climb out on the other side of the wall, and I bet we'll be able to climb right over that other wall they built."

Azula smirks. "I really am a genius, aren't I?"

"That's what I've been saying all along," Ty Lee answers. "Now, come on. We have a lot of walking to do. And try not to step on too many stalks of wheat. We don't want to leave a trail."

* * *

"Where do you propose we go once we're out?" Azula asks during the fifth hour of their walk through the Agrarian Zone. Ty Lee has never seen so much wheat in her life, but she desperately wishes they were trekking through a mango orchard instead. Her stomach has been complaining for an hour. The sharp pain in her side has dulled to an ache, and she thinks the bleeding has stopped.

She shrugs. "I don't know. I guess we can't really stay in the Earth Kingdom, now that Kuei knows you're out." She sighs and shakes her head. "Ba Sing Se was so perfect. It was so big, no one even noticed us. How did they find out we were here? We were so careful."

Behind her, she hears Azula stop. When she turns, the Princess is eyeing the ground, her arms wrapped around her stomach. "Azula?"

"I know how they found us," she whispers. Without notice, she whips back around and begins to march back toward the city. "I'm going to _kill_ him!"

"Azula, who are you talking about?" Ty Lee cries, lunging forward to seize her friend's arm.

Azula is positively seething. "That man," she replies through clenched teeth. "The one I… got the money from when you were sick. He recognized me."

Ty Lee knits her eyebrows together. "But, Azula, that was months ago. If he was going to turn you in, don't you think he would have done it by now."

"No," Azula murmurs. "Not if I was keeping him quiet."

"What do you mean, keeping him quiet?" Ty Lee asks. She does not like the direction this conversation is going at all.

"He found me," Azula explains. "Don't ask me how. And he told me he knew who I was and he would tell the Dai Li if I didn't… come see him again." She takes a breath. "I thought it was over. It was supposed to be over."

The acrobat takes her friend's hand. "Azula, how long has this been going on?"

Azula shrugs, still refusing to raise her eyes to meet Ty Lee's. "Since you got sick. The last time I saw him, I brought this." She produces the knife from her sleeve, and Ty Lee cannot help but think that Mai would be proud. Azula's voice is suddenly escalating, raging. A fire burns in her eyes akin to the one Ty Lee saw as she looked at Mai at the Boiling Rock, just before Ty Lee plunged a knuckle into her shoulder blade. "And when he tried to climb on top of me, I held it to his neck, and I told him if I ever saw him again, or if he breathed a word to anyone about who I was, I would not hesitate to use it." She shakes her head, and the fire disappears just as quickly. "I know that would have brought more Dai Li attention to the Lower Ring, but I just couldn't do it anymore. Obviously he didn't listen anway. I'm sorry, Ty Lee."

Her voice cracks on the second syllable of Ty Lee's name, and she drops the sack and pulls the Princess to her. "Don't apologize," she answers, wrapping her slender arms around Azula's back and laying her head against her shoulder. "Don't you dare. _I_ 'm sorry."

"I know how hard you worked to make everything work out," Azula whispers. Under happier circumstances, Ty Lee would marvel at actually getting an apology out of Princess Azula, at having her efforts acknowledged for once, but she does not care at all about any of those things right now. What she cares about is the girl in her arms, whose back is heaving with her effort not to cry.

"Is this why you haven't been eating," Ty Lee asks, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. "And why you cry at night?"

"I don't cry at night," Azula mutters into her shoulder.

"Yes, you do," Ty Lee answers. "I'm usually just pretending to be asleep, Azula."

She hears a long, trembling sigh. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she finally asks when Azula's breaths have evened out again. Her friend is silent and Ty Lee nudges her with her should. "Azula, why?"

Her answer is barely a whisper. "I didn't want you to know how weak I was."

Suddenly, Ty Lee is the one trying not to cry, and she is failing miserably at it. "I don't think you're weak." She sniffles as she finally releases the Princess and begins to absently straighten out Azula's dress. "You'll never see him again," she promises. "We'll go somewhere far away."

"I don't see where we have much choice in the matter." Azula begins to walk again. She has slipped back into her businesslike tone. "There's nothing for miles outside the wall. Don't you remember coming here in the drill?"

"Not really," Ty Lee replies slowly. "I was a little busy with other things."

Azula rolls her eyes. "Of course."

"I was thinking maybe we could make it to the United Republic," Ty Lee says. "I know it's kind of far, but at least it's not the Earth Kingdom. If we got recognized there, the Earth King won't be able to swoop in and arrest us on a moment's notice. Zuko and the Avatar might even be able to block us from being extradited."

"That's a big word," Azula comments.

"Three years of being part of the Fire Lord's personal guard," Ty Lee remarks. "I've learned a few things."

"I don't doubt it," Azula answers. "You were always quite intelligent when you wanted to be."

Ty Lee shakes her head at the contradiction and continues on. "We're getting really close to the wall now. We should be able to see the drill… Oh, there it is!" Just over the tops of the wheat stalks, she can see a large, dark mass. "Do you want to spend the night in there?"

Azula sighs. "We shouldn't. There might be guards on top of the wall—there were during the war—and we'll have a lot of empty space to cross on the other side before we reach the tree line. We should do it under the cover of darkness."

* * *

The bowls of the drill are eerie. It is very dark and very quiet. They can hear every creak of metal, like deep groans, echoing through the empty space.

"If I had my bending, we would be able to see fine," Azula hisses bitterly as she and Ty Lee feel their way down a corridor.

"Do we just keep going straight?" Ty Lee asks. She is not exactly sure why she is whispering. There is no one else in here. She knows that.

"There will be a staircase up ahead," Azula replies. "Weren't you paying any attention when we were in here before?"

"Not really, no," Ty Lee admits. There had been a very attractive soldier with whom she had taken up during their time in the drill on the way to Ba Sing Se, and, except for when Azula requested her presence on the bridge, she had spent very little time outside of her quarters, but she does not think that right now is the best time to bring that up.

She hears a sigh from behind her. "We need to go up the stairs—just one flight—and then keep going straight until we hit a dead end."

"How far will that be?" Ty Lee asks.

"Not far. We'll be right by the conference room," Azula replies.

Ty Lee swallows. Her lips curl into an embarrassed smile that she knows her companion cannot see. "I have no idea where the conference room is," she answers. "Was I ever even in there?"

"You most certainly were." The Princess almost sounds offended.

Ty Lee feels her shin collide with something, and she nearly falls until she catches herself on a handrail.

"Are you alright?" Azula asks from behind her.

"I'm fine," she answers. "I found the stairs."

The next deck up is not a dark as the first. Ty Lee finds it very odd, because there is nowhere for light to come in.

"Someone is here," Azula hisses, and Ty Lee feels her head being directed toward the other end of the corridor, where a flickering light peaks through a half-opened door. Ty Lee takes a step toward it, but she is stopped by an arm thrown out in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Azula whispers.

"I'm going to go check it out." She pushes the Princess' arm out of the way.

She can hear hushed voices coming from inside the room. There is heat and the smell of something being cooked.

"Bei Long," a woman says in a stern voice. "You had the last one. Give that to your sister."

"But mom," a child's voice answers. "I'm bigger than she is. I need more food."

"You'll both have plenty," the woman replies. "You'll just have to wait for it."

"Azula, it's a family," Ty Lee whispers over her shoulder. Azula is shaking her head back and forth urgently, but Ty Lee disregards her. With a hurried, "It'll be okay," she pushes the door open.

A woman and two young children stare up at them. They all look rather dirty, but well-fed, Ty Lee cannot help but notice. A young girl is holding something that looks like an extremely flat piece of bread, and the boy sitting next to her is chewing guiltily. In the middle, a fire is crackling inside a metal canister that Ty Lee guesses once held coal.

"Who are you?" The woman is on her feet at once, a frying pan gripped in her hand.

"We're not going to hurt you," Ty Lee answers quickly, throwing her hands in the air and nudging Azula until she does the same. "My name is Ty Lee. This is my… Sima." She does not know why she decides not to introduce Azula has her cousin. Suddenly, it feels strange. Inappropriate somehow. Maybe because Azula kissed her at the fountain last night. She can hardly believe it has only been a day. It feels like a lifetime ago. "We're just passing through. We're trying to get to the other side of the wall."

"In or out?" the woman asks.

"Out."

"Good." The woman lowers the frying pan but does not take her eyes off of them. "There's nothing good within those walls. Come. Sit." She gestures to the side of the fire opposite her. Ty Lee takes a careful step into the room, Azula on her tail, and drops to the floor, balancing the sack beside her.

"We're just trying to get out of the city," Ty Lee explains. "And we can't take the train, so we decided to come through the drill and then climb the wall on the other side. You know, since it's shorter."

"That seems—" but the woman is cut off by the door creaking open again. A man and a boy who looks much like the first, but several years older enter the room.

"Kiano," the woman greets. "We have visitors."

"I see that," the man replies. He looks confused, but not really angry. The boy merely looks afraid. They are both carrying baskets, but in the dim light, Ty Lee cannot see what they hold. "What are they doing here?"

"They're trying to get past the wall," the woman explains. "Going out."

"Good," the man answers. He pulls the tattered hat off of his head and tosses it toward the corner of the room. "Well," her grunts, sitting down. "Are you girls staying the night?"

"Oh," Ty Lee gasps as Azula quickly shakes her head. "We really wanted to leave under the cover of nightfall, since it's so empty out there. We don't want the guards to see us."

"That's good thinking," the man replies. "If there were still guards up there. There haven't been since the end of the war. You want to leave when it's light out. Otherwise the coyote hawks might get you. They stalk these deserts at night."

"Are you certain there are no guards?" Azula demands.

The man fixes her with a withering look that Ty Lee imagines Azula has never been on the receiving end of. "We steal food out of fields every day," he replies. "If there were guards up there, we'd have been in prison a long time ago."

"I'll tell you what," the woman says. "You can stay here, eat dinner with us, get a good night's sleep, and in the morning, we'll help you get over the wall."

"What's in it for you?" Azula asks immediately.

The woman shrugs. "Nothing. We have more than enough food, my husband and son always make sure of that, and it's freezing out there at night."

Ty Lee turns to face Azula. "We should consider it," she whispers under her breath. "Who knows when we'll have a solid meal again. Or somewhere warm to sleep."

"We haven't had anywhere warm to sleep since we left the Fire Nation," Azula points out. "I don't trust them. No one offers something without expecting anything in return. What if there's a reward on our heads? They could be waiting for us to fall asleep so they can turn us in."

"Azula, in case you're forgetting, the Dai Li are pretty ruthless," Ty Lee argues. "If this family called them here, they'd probably be arrested for stealing food, reward or not. Besides, how do you expect them to call anyone. We're in the middle of nowhere. It takes hours to get back to the Lower Ring. Sometimes you just have to trust people."

Azula sighs, signaling to Ty Lee that she is not going to argue. Ty Lee turns back around toward the couple. "That sounds great."

They feast on mangos and kiwi and home-baked bread that is a little flat and a little stale, but soothes Ty Lee's aching stomach all the same. Then they curl up in the corner of the room under the quilt and Ty Lee clasps both of Azula's hands in hers. When she wakes up in the middle of the night to soft sobs and ragged breathing, she does not pretend to be asleep. She slides her forehead across the floor until it touches Azula's and she wipes away her companion's tears with her thumbs. When the Princess attempts to duck her head in embarrassment, Ty Lee refuses to let go.

"You'll be okay," she whispers, and she falls back asleep, her palm cupping the base of Azula's jaw, their foreheads still touching.

* * *

The next morning, Kiano and his wife, Sella, load fruits into Ty Lee's sack. "You'll have to eat those in a couple days," he tells them. "Or they'll go bad."

Kiano ties a heavy metal pipe from the inside of the drill to the end of a rope, and sets it on the ground. "It's all you, Bomin."

The older boy crouches, tenses the muscles in his shoulders, and a pillar of earth springs from the ground at an angle and launches the pipe over the wall.

"He's not strong enough yet to just lift you right to the top," Kiano explains, clapping his son on the shoulder and smiling benignly down at him. "But he's getting there." Azula's eyebrows turn up in the center, and Ty Lee suspects she is remembering her own firebending training. Ty Lee does not know much about Azula's training, she and Mai had always had to leave so that the Princess would not be distracted, but she does know that passing up her older brother was not good enough. Conjuring lightning at the age of eleven was not good enough. Perfect was not good enough.

Kiano tugs on the end of the rope. "There you go," he tells them as he hands it to Ty Lee. "Bomin can launch your bag over if you don't want to carry it."

"Thank you," Ty Lee turns so that she is looking at the entire family, "for everything."

"Don't mention it," Sella replies. "We hope you girls find whatever it is you're looking for."

"We wish we knew what we were looking for," Ty Lee mutters to Azula, but the joke does not earn a smile.

"You want to go left when you're on the other side," Kiano explains. "If you go right, it's desert for miles and miles and then it's mountains. You'd have to walk for a month to find anybody."

"Amazing," Azula grumbles scathingly.

"You'll come across some plains," he continues. "And then you'll find a river. You'll want to follow the river. That's sure to take you to a town."

"Thank you, Kiano!" Ty Lee calls once again as she grips the rope and begins to hoist herself up the wall. Azula follows close behind her, and, all in all, the experience does not take nearly as long as she expects it to.

"I can't believe this," Azula mumbles once she drops to the ground on the outside of the wall. "I'm accepting help from earthbenders now. What's next? Waterbenders?"

"You made it perfectly clear yesterday morning that you can still take down an earthbender if you need to," Ty Lee replies, rolling her eyes. She picks up the sack and pulls it over her shoulder. "Well," she sighs, gazing up at the wall. "Say goodbye to Ba Sing Se."

"Goodbye, Ba Sing Se." Azula is already trotting off toward the nearly-invisible tree line. "I'm _not_ sorry to say I won't miss it."

Ty Lee wonders what Wu Ling is doing right now. Hopefully, in their haste to catch up to her and Azula, they left him alone. Ty Lee pushes the thought from her mind as she hurries to catch up to her companion.

"I never thanked you," she calls after her.

Azula does not turn around. "Thank me for what?"

"For rescuing me yesterday, of course," Ty Lee explains as if it should have been obvious.

"Why would you thank me for that?" Azula questions.

Ty Lee shrugs. "I just wasn't sure you would. I thought you might keep going. I hoped you would, actually."

Azula looks over at her, her face etched with surprise. "You thought I would leave you?"

"Well, yeah," Ty Lee answers. "I mean, you're the one who might get executed if they find you. I've been pardoned, remember?"

"For your war crimes," Azula reminds her. "Not for assisting me."

"Yeah, but the Earth King wasn't going to have me killed just for helping you. Besides," Ty Lee adds. "You wouldn't have saved me before. Not if it jeopardized your mission."

"It's a good thing this isn't _before_ then, isn't it?" Azula replies. "I would be lying if I said you weren't important to me." She adds airily. "I thought that should have been clear by now."

"Thank you, Azula!" Ty Lee cries, throwing her arms around her friend. "You mean a lot to me too!"

"Yes, I know," she answers with a smirk. "I hope you didn't think that was a secret."


	11. Fate Is Deadly

They finally come to the plains around nightfall. Azula has taken the quilt from the sack and wrapped it around her shoulders for warmth. Ty Lee is grateful that there is no longer snow on the ground, but it is still early enough in the spring to be almost frigid after sunset.

"We should probably look for somewhere to camp," she comments. "We could get lost if we don't see landmarks in the dark."

"What landmarks?" Azula sneers. "We were told to go straight until we come to a river. I don't think we're likely to miss a river, do you?"

"No," Ty Lee answers. "But how will we know we're going straight if we can't see the wall?"

Ba Sing Se's wall has been growing more and more distant as the day has gone on. The wall curves and they continue to walk in a straight, tangential line, it's placement, to their left, remains the same. Ty Lee has been using it to judge direction all day.

"I believe I know how to walk in a straight line, thank you," Azula argues.

"Do you want to just walk all night then?" Ty Lee grits her teeth in frustration. Nothing is ever easy with the Princess. "I know I don't."

"Fine," Azula sighs. "If you want to camp, we can camp."

"Great!" Ty Lee replies. She looks around. Excepting the few trees sprinkled around the landscape, they are on an open grassland. "How about by that tree over there. I bet there'll be some sticks lying around. We can build a fire."

"Do you know how to build a fire?" Azula asks, raising her eyebrows in either surprise or disbelief or a mix between the two.

"Well, I never have before," Ty Lee answers as she watches Azula's expression fall. "But I saw people do it in the circus. How hard can it be?"

As it turns out, building a fire is hard. It is not simply rubbing two sticks together and waiting for them to magically light. "Jinzu, the dragon man made this look a lot easier," Ty Lee grumbles after fifteen minutes of useless toiling. She tosses the stick she is holding over her shoulder.

"Well, we have all that fruit from those hapless peasants," Azula points out. "It's not like we really need a fire anyway."

"Hey, those hapless peasants probably gave us enough food for two days," Ty Lee admonishes. "The least you could do is show them some respect. Besides," she adds. "Are we really that much better? At least they knew how to," she kicks at the pile of sticks she has been working with, "build a fire."

"Here." Azula passes her a mango.

"Thanks, Azula," Ty Lee mutters, joining her friend against the trunk of the tree. She takes a bite, savoring the taste as juice runs down her chin. "So, as Princess of the Fire Nation, how does it feel to be homeless?"

"Not as degrading as I would have thought," Azula admits, shifting so that their shoulders touch. It is such a small gesture, and Ty Lee is not sure if her companion has even noticed, but she suddenly feels unsure whether or not she should pull away. "Are we still headed to the United Republic?"

"No," Ty Lee replies. "We're headed east. The United Republic is in the opposite direction."

"But, there's nothing east of Ba Sing Se," Azula argues. "Where exactly are we going?"

Ty Lee sighs. "I don't know, but Kiano was probably right. There will be a village along the river. Maybe we'll be able to take a boat to a port and board a ship to a bigger city."

"We're going on a ship?" Azula asks, her voice suddenly very serious.

"Oh…" Ty Lee remembers the week Azula spent throwing up en route from the Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom. "Right, well, maybe a wagon then. You didn't mind that."

"I wouldn't say that," Azula corrects. "I didn't _hate_ it."

"If I hadn't slept with Kali, you wouldn't have minded," Ty Lee amends, and a thought occurs to her. "Azula, were you so upset with me for doing that because… you know…" She is floundering, and Azula decides to rescue her.

"I haven't been pining after you, if that's what you're asking." She crosses her arms resolutely. "I don't pine. I'm a Princess. I can have anyone I want."

Ty Lee decides to leave it alone. She is not sure if she should really be directing the conversation toward romance right now, anyway. It is probably not what Azula wants to talk about.

Ty Lee finishes her piece of fruit, and Azula eats half of hers, which is not particularly surprising. At least it is better than the four bites of potato she'd had for breakfast yesterday morning. The quilt lays in a pile beside Azula, and Ty Lee spreads it out and remembers the last time they slept in it together, near the beginning of their stay in Ba Sing Se, the night before she bought the bedrolls. They had barely even been friends then. Ty Lee had slept curled tightly into a ball to avoid touching the Princess in her sleep. The residual awkwardness from Azula throwing Ty Lee in prison and Ty Lee guarding Azula in the asylum is now gone. When they lie down, Ty Lee faces her companion, their bodies close enough together that each can feel the heat radiating off of the other.

"I want you to wake me up if you need to," Ty Lee whispers into the darkness.

"If you say so," Azula agrees, stifling a yawn.

Ty Lee knows that she will not.

* * *

They come to the river on the third day. They have been out of fruit since the previous evening. Ty Lee can hear both their stomachs complaining. To her credit, Azula has not said a word about Ty Lee's inability to produce a meal from thin air.

"Now we can fish!" Ty Lee exclaims, and without a second thought, she wades thigh-deep into the river and plunges her hand into the water with the speed and force she would use to block the chi of a man three times her size. "I got one!" She holds up a fish about the length of her forearm and desperately thrashing.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" Azula asks, crossing her arms skeptically as Ty Lee tosses it onto the bank.

"You eat it, of course," Ty Lee answers, already throwing her arm back into the water. "Build a fire. We can cook them."

"If I knew how to build a fire without bending, do you really think we would have spent the past two nights sleeping in the cold?" Azula snaps.

Ty Lee sighs. "Okay then. Dig in."

The Princess' eyes widen in disbelief. "You expect me to eat it raw?"

"It'll be fine," Ty Lee assures her with a wave of her hand. "You won't even know the difference. People barely cook fish anyway."

"I am _not_ going to eat raw fish," Azula argues.

"Come on, _Princess_ ," Ty Lee replies. "We just spent months eating almost all our meals at a greasy bar in the slums of Ba Sing Se. I'm sure your delicate palate can handle it."

She bends down and picks the squirming fish up by its tail with two fingers. "That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what?" Ty Lee asks, effortlessly scooping another fish out of the water and wading back toward the shore. "I promise I won't tell Zuko about this."

"If you do, you'll die," Azula mutters, and Ty Lee smirks. She glances back down at the fish and gags. "It's still moving."

Ty Lee giggles. "Well, duh. It's alive." She looks around for a moment before her eyes come to a rest back on her companion. "Where's your knife?"

Azula produces the knife from her sleeve. Ty Lee immediately snatches it out of her hand. "Perfect." She kneels down and sets the fish on a nearby rock, holding it in place. With the other, she lines the knife up at the base of its skull and begins to saw.

"What are you doing?" Azula shrieks.

"How else did you think we were going to kill them?" Ty Lee asks without looking up. "Hit them against a tree a couple of times? I guess you could just wait for it to suffocate." She shrugs.

"Yes," Azula agrees. "Yes, I think I'll do that." She drops to the ground beside Ty Lee and sets the wriggling fish beside her. "Don't get any blood on me."

"You're going to have a lot of blood on you in a minute," Ty Lee points out. "Not cutting the head off means the blood won't drain before you eat it."

The Princess sighs. "You're really not going to give me a choice, are you?"

"I just don't think you have one," Ty Lee answers. "Look at it this way. We could be starving."

"I think I'd rather starve," Azula grumbles, propping her chin on top of her fist.

"Lighten up, Azula," Ty Lee advises. "You're sucking the fun out of everything. I don't think this is that bad. I mean, look where we are." The density of trees has been thickening since last night. Now they are in, what Ty Lee can comfortably call, a forest. What has been brown and yellow and dead-looking for the past two days is now lush and green. "This is way prettier than Ba Sing Se."

"I'm _sucking the fun?_ " Azula repeats. "This isn't some game, you know. This is our life. We could really die out here."

Ty Lee sets the knife down and, with a jerk of her hand, pulls the bones from the headless fish. She thrusts it toward Azula. "Here, hold it out by its tail so the blood can drain out." Then she reaches for Azula's fish. "I know," she replies. "But we had fun when we were out here before. I don't know why you have to be so grouchy now."

"In case you haven't noticed, our circumstances have changed."

"I've noticed. You don't have to keep bringing it up." Ty Lee rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "You're such a drama queen."

Azula groans. "Well, at least I'm the queen of something."

"Here," Ty Lee says, taking the first fish from Azula and handing her the second one. She makes a cut down the side of the fish and carefully peels the skin off. Then she holds it back out. "Eat this. You won't even notice it's not cooked. Promise."'

Azula grimaces and sniffs at it for a while before taking a bite, but she eats the entire thing. It is the first time in months that she has finished what the acrobat has put in front of her. For that, Ty Lee is exceedingly grateful.

* * *

They camp under a tree that night. Though, not camping under a tree would be pretty difficult, given their location, Azula realizes as she stares up at the stars through the leaves. Ty Lee is gripping her hand, her other arm thrown haphazardly over Azula's body. She is rather cuddly in her sleep, even more so than when she is awake. She looks very young when she is asleep. When she is alert, it is clear that her face has elongated, that her cheekbones have become more pronounced, that she is no longer the baby-faced child who helped Azula conquer the Earth Nation, but in sleep, she looks exactly the same as she did that day at the Boiling Rock. She was beautiful that day. She has always been beautiful.

More than anything, Azula wishes things had not turned out the way they did. Ty Lee deserves someone who can be just as enthusiastic about life as she is. Someone whole. Azula thinks maybe she was whole once, before she started bending, before Zuko started hating her, before her mother left and her brother was banished and her father invited himself into her bed. Before she was fitted with armor and taught not to feel and given an army to command when she was barely a teenager. But Azula has not been whole in a very long time, of that she is certain.

Ty Lee murmurs unintelligibly and scoots closer, nuzzling her nose into Azula's shoulder. Azula wishes she had not kissed her. She does not know what she was thinking, honestly. She feels foolish. She feels pitied. And no matter how much she denies it to herself, she feels disappointed, because kissing Ty Lee is the happiest she can ever remember feeling, and she knows—she has known since she pulled away and saw the look on her friend's face—that it will not happen again. She was stupid to ever believe that it might. Ty Lee is so much better. And she deserves someone better than Azula, twisted, broken, and ruined in more ways than one.

She hears a yawn at her side. "Azula, are you still awake?"

"Yes," Azula answers.

"Are you okay?" Ty Lee props herself up on her elbow. Azula can see the other girl studying her out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes," she replies. "I'm just thinking."

"Oh, really?" Ty Lee asks. She rolls over onto her stomach, shifting half of her weight onto the other elbow. "What about?"

Azula sighs. "Just about everything that's happened in the past few days."

"I know, it's a lot to process, isn't it?" Ty Lee asks. "I mean, this time three nights ago, we were at home. I mean, we were in our old home. Isn't that funny?"

"That not exactly the word I would use," Azula comments.

Honestly, she cannot even remember when she started liking the girl, really liking her instead of just tolerating her. She must have been quite young if she cannot remember the moment exactly. She knows it was not like with Mai. Azula has always liked Mai for her ability to just _know_ and her presence of mind to sit on her wealth of knowledge until it became useful. Ty Lee had annoyed her at first. She had first befriended her because Ty Lee was genuinely nice to everyone, not like the other girls at school, who were only good to Azula, socially inept as she was, because their parents told them to be. Ty Lee's kindness had been real, and Azula had enjoyed feeling liked. It had taken her a long time to decide that Mai hung out with her because she liked her.

And then at some point, as they were transitioning from children to adolescents, it had evolved into something more. Azula had discovered feelings she had not known what to do with. It would have been bad enough had it been some noble boy. At least she would have told Mai and Ty Lee and allowed them to laugh for the solidarity it offered. They were always talking about their own romantic endeavors after all, or at least Ty Lee was. Mai was still pining after Zuko. But Ty Lee had just been such an unseemly target. The seventh daughter of a disgraced noble. The seventh _daughter_. Not at all an appropriate object of affection for a Princess, especially one who refused to acknowledge that she felt affection at all. She had imagined on countless occasions what her father would have done with that information. Ty Lee would have been banished, of course—but then she could have stayed with the circus, and maybe she would have been happier that way—and Azula would have found herself pinned to the bed, unable to walk for days as Ozai claimed her as his own. He had expected to make a diplomatic marriage at some point, but it would have been an arrangement of necessity so that she could bear heirs. Her father would not have been able to stand the idea that Azula loved someone else.

Not that Azula actually _loves_ Ty Lee. Or ever has.

"Don't worry," Ty Lee is saying. "We'll be in another town soon. I mean, I know the Earth Kingdom is rural, but it can't be _that_ rural."

"The question is, will it be a town we can stay in," Azula wonders aloud, relieved to have something else to think about.

"I know, I know," Ty Lee sighs. "If it's too small, it'll be too easy to notice us. That's why we decided on Ba Sing Se in the first place. But maybe we'll at least be able to stay a couple days." She lies back down and wraps both of her arms around one of Azula's, making herself comfortable in the quilt. "Make sure you sleep, okay? We have a lot more walking to do tomorrow."

"We have a lot of walking to do every day," Azula grumbles, wishing sorely that they'd had the presence of mind to steal something to ride on while they were escaping. An eel hound perhaps. Those had served them well last time.

"Stop complaining," Ty Lee mumbles, nudging her gently in the ribs with her elbow, already half asleep again.

Azula sighs and stared back up at the stars.

Her father is most disappointed in her now. She can hear his voice in the gentle breeze, feel his admonishment under her skin. Even on the other side of the world, under a tree in one of many, many Earth Kingdom forests, he will not stop telling her how much she displeases him.

* * *

"I heard about your sister," Hakoda says as he shakes Zuko's hand. "I hope she's alright."

Zuko laughs hollowly, his eyes flitting to the Earth King, who is having a conversation with Arnook not ten feet away. "You're the only one," he mutters.

He sees Hakoda look over out of the corner of his eyes, and then an expression of understanding washes over his face. "Don't worry about Kuei," he answers, his voice low. "He's harmless. You know that."

Zuko's expression hardens. "He tried to have my sister kidnapped."

"Yes," Hakoda sighs. "Sokka told me what happened. Well, he's still got a lot to learn. No one's denying that. Rest assured that his stunt hasn't gained him any points with the Southern Water Tribe."

"Sorry I'm late!" Aangs voice calls from behind him. Zuko turns and barely manages to suppress a snort of laughter as the Avatar hops into the Grand Council Room of Republic City on one foot, pulling his shoe on, and absolutely covered in long, white hairs. "Are we ready to do this?"

The five world leaders take a seat around the semi-circular table. The shape of this table has always seemed stupid to Zuko. He would have preferred a round table or a rectangular table, but Aang had not been able to stop talking about it, and eventually the other four men had agreed to have one requisitioned. It was only a table after all, and they had really had bigger problems to worry about at the time.

"Arnook," Aang begins. "Is the Northern Water Tribe ready to name a representative to the Council?"

"We are," Arnook replies. "The Northern Water Tribe nominates Tukka. He has been one of my most trusted advisors for years, and he fought bravely when the North Pole was under siege from the Fire Nation. My tribe agrees that he should be the first of what I'm sure will be many great councilmen from my nation."

"Very well," Aang answers regally. Zuko hides a smirk with his hand. Of the things that he finds hilarious, Aang trying to sound mature than the sixteen years he has been alive and not frozen in ice is high up on the list. "Kuei, do you have your representative ready?"

"I do," Kuei replies. "I believe you are acquainted. His name is Haru. He comes from a small village on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom. He helped lead a liberation of one of the Fire Nation's internment camps and he played an active role in the invasion on the Day of the Black Sun. He has already shown dedication to the people of the Earth Kingdom, and I believe he will lead our people in Republic City well."

"Great!" Aang exclaims. "Well, I nominate myself for the Air Nation, obviously. One day, I'll step down and name one of the Air Acolytes in my place, but I don't feel that they have a deep enough understanding of Air Nomad culture to represent us yet. Zuko, what about you? Do you have a candidate in mind?"

"Yeah," Zuko answers slowly. "I didn't really know I'd have to make a speech." Really, Zuko thinks, he should have expected this. Of course, Kuei was going to say a few words. If there is one thing the Earth King is skilled at, it is speaking intelligently, and Arnook has always had a penchant for formality. "I nominate Shenzi for the Fire Nation. Her family was um… one of the first to step up in support after my coronation. That sounds really self-centered, but… really, it just shows that they were never loyal to Fire Lord Ozai. Her brother was banished for falling in love with an Earth Kingdom woman while he was stationed in one of the colonies, you see…" He looks up at Aang.

"Sounds good," the Avatar answers with a nod of approval. "Hakoda?"

"After consulting with my tribe and deliberating with my closest confidantes," Hakoda begins, "I have decided to nominate my son, Sokka, for the Southern Water Tribe." Zuko catches Kuei's smile and Arnook's frown out of the corner of his eye. "It was a unanimous decision among my tribesman, and I could not be prouder."

Aang claps his hands together. "Alright, it sounds like we have a Council. Is anybody else ready to break for the day? I know I could use a bath."

The five men push themselves from their seats. Kuei and Arnook start toward the enormous set of double doors at the end of the hall immediately. Hakoda leaves Zuko with a quick pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine."

"Thank you," Zuko replies. "Congratulations on Sokka's nomination. And his engagement."

"I appreciate that," Hakoda answers with a smile. "We all adore Suki. We only wish we saw more of her."

"I let her know you said that," Zuko promises before turning to Aang and wrinkling his nose at the stench. "What's all over you?"

Aang sighs. "Appa's shedding. I was trying to give him bath to, you know, speed up the process, but," he pulls a long strand of hair out from behind his ear and flicks it away, "he had other ideas."

They start after Hakoda towards the door as Aang speaks again, his voice lower. "I heard Kuei found out Azula was gone."

"He did," Zuko confirms, the corners of his lips turning down into a frown. "We saw flyers. He's definitely looking for her."

"And…" Aang pauses as he takes a look around the empty room. He finishes in a barely audible whisper, "Do you know if she's still in Ba Sing Se?"

"I don't know," Zuko answers. "We haven't heard from either of them since they left, and my uncle hasn't heard from them at all. That could be a good thing though. I told Ty Lee not to contact him unless she really needed to, and they know they can't send a letter to the palace in the Fire Nation from Ba Sing Se without arousing suspicion."

"I'm sure they're okay," Aang assures him. "I mean, if they'd been found, you'd definitely know right away. The whole world would."

"Yeah," Zuko agrees. "That's what Mai said too."

"Don't worry," Aang tells him. "This will all be over eventually. Kuei can't go on like this forever."

"She overthrew him with his own Dai Li agents and conspired to burn his nation to the ground," Zuko points out. "That's not really something that's hard to stay angry about."

"True," Aang admits. "But it's not going to happen again. I mean, she can't even firebend anymore."

Zuko shakes his head and covers his face with his hand. "I don't think he cares. If it was me, I probably wouldn't care either."

* * *

On the fifth day, they both wake up with a rash.

"Did you step in poison ivy?" Azula snaps, itching at her stomach.

"No," Ty Lee insists. "I don't know what it is. Here, let me look at it." Azula turns her back to Ty Lee and allows the other girl to pull her shirt up to her shoulders. Ty Lee's fingers skim over the puffy, pink rash, mottled among small white scars from miscellaneous childhood firebending accidents and one burn scar in the shape of a large handprint that can't have been an accident at all. Azula squirms, twisting her shoulders to pull her skin out of Ty Lee's reach.

"Hold still, Azula," Ty Lee instructs.

"Then stop touching it," Azula retorts. "It itches."

Ty Lee shakes her head in frustration. "I don't know what this is. I've never seen it before. I guess we should just get moving and try not to touch it."

"You think?" Azula hisses, tugging her shirt back down and standing up.

Ty Lee folds the quilt and stuffs it into the sack, and they continue along the river. The bag slung over her shoulder rubs against her back, grinding the fabric of her shirt into her rash. The itch is so severe it brings tears to her eyes. Her abdomen begins to ache after the first hour of walking. She feels achy all over.

"I hope we haven't contracted some mysterious jungle illness," Azula comments, voicing the fears rolling around in Ty Lee's head. "This place is probably a cesspool."

"Maybe it's just an allergic reaction to something," Ty Lee offers. "We ate those flowers yesterday. It was probably that."

"You'd better hope so," Azula replies. "If I die in your care, I will haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Not so fast." Ty Lee holds her index finger up. "If you die, I'll die too."

Azula scoffs. "I didn't say it would be a long life."

"If you want to haunt me in my dying moments, be my guest," Ty Lee answers. "At least I won't have to be alone."

They are silent for a long time after that. Ty Lee tries to focus on the babbling of the river and the birds in the trees and not the itching on her back and shoulders. Azula is carrying herself strangely, her stomach and hips thrown out in front of her shoulders. Ty Lee imagines she is doing it to keep her shirt from touching her back.

Just before Ty Lee is about to suggest that they stop for lunch, she vomits. It has been a long time since she has thrown up—probably since she was a child—and she does not recognize the sensation until it is nearly too late. She drops the bag, dives in front of Azula toward the river, and wretches into the water. When she is finished, she lolls her forehead against the mud, her back heaving with the force of her breaths.

She is not aware of Azula on her knees beside her until she feels hands on her shoulders, guiding her up into a sitting position. Her wet bangs are stuck to her forehead, and Azula pushes them out of the way. "You have mud all over your face now," she comments as she dips her hand into the river and begins to wash it away. "Are you alright?"

Ty Lee shakes her head. "I don't know—"

She lunges for the water again. Behind her, Azula heaves a very Mai-like sigh. "I'll take that as a no."

Ty Lee wipes her mouth on the back of her arm as she sits back up. "My mouth tastes all gross now."

"Now you know how I felt on the ship," Azula comments, but the tone of her voice is soft. She cups her hands into the river and holds them up. "Swish and spit." Ty Lee obeys.

"I never throw up," she complains.

"I don't either," Azula answers. "Unless I'm on a ship. When we were children, Zuko was sick constantly. Our mother called him _fragile_." She laughs. "Our father saw it for what it was. Weakness."

"You don't really believe that," Ty Lee counters reproachfully.

Azula pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe not. But I did once."

"But, Azula," Ty Lee replies. "Didn't you ever get sick?"

"I threw up sometimes." She shrugs. "After training all day or… at night sometimes. But I didn't get sick." She pauses, her expression forming into a scowl. "Our mother used to tell stories to Zuko when he was sick. She would stay with him all day and talk to him. Sometimes, I wished I was sick too, so she would treat me like that." She is staring off to the right, her eyes unfocused. "My father wouldn't even go into his room though. He said a Fire Lord had to stay healthy to lead his people. I'd stand outside the door sometimes, watching my mother tend to Zuko, and he would walk past and pat me on the head and tell me never to embarrass him like my brother did." She shudders and looks back at her companion.

"He was ashamed of Zuko for getting sick?" Ty Lee asks. "That's terrible."

"It would have been the same for me," Azula replies distantly. "That's why I never told anyone when my head hurt or I was feeling dizzy or I couldn't eat. I wanted my mother's attention, but Zuko already had it. All I had was my father's pride, and I intended to keep it. It was the only thing that made me worthwhile."

"That's not true," Ty Lee answers softly, but Azula does not seem to hear her. She is silent, still. "There was never only one of us sick at my house," she says to no one in particular, because she does not really think Azula is listening. "And the nanny was stretched really thin already, so she would just be angry all the time. Before everything happened with my father, my parents didn't really have much to do with us even when we were healthy, and after it happened… well, I guess it's lucky some of my sisters were older by then, because we couldn't afford the nanny anymore, and my mother was always too sad to do anything—" but she breaks off because Azula is lunging for the river, her back heaving. She looks livid when she sits back up.

"What is happening to us?"

"I don't know," Ty Lee sighs, flopping back in the grass. She hears another bout of gagging, and then Azula lies down next to her.

"We're going to die out here, aren't we?"

"I don't think so," Ty Lee answers, trying her best to sound upbeat. "We'll probably just sleep it off. If we take a nap right now, we'll probably wake up later this afternoon and be fine."

Azula does not call her on the lie. "We can't afford to take a nap," she moans instead. She picks herself up off the ground and pulls Ty Lee up by the arm. "We have to keep going." She slings the sack over her own shoulder and begins to walk. Ty Lee follows her on her own shaking legs.

They try to eat berries for lunch because Ty Lee is too weak to catch fish, but they are hardly able to keep them down for longer than a minute. Azula picks Ty Lee up again, this time, slipping her arms under the acrobat's armpits and lifting. It takes her four tries, even though Ty Lee is feather light, but she will not admit that her strength has deteriorated when the other girl asks. They have barely staggered a hundred feet when Ty Lee trips on a tree root and falls face first into the dirt. She groans when Azula rolls her over.

"Get up," Azula orders harshly. The fear in her eyes betrays her. "We have to keep going."

"I can't," Ty Lee whines. "Azula, I can barely walk."

Azula sighs heavily and sinks down next to her. Ty Lee can see her hands shaking, the way she squeezes her eyes shut and presses her palm to her forehead. "Okay," she finally agrees. "Okay we'll nap right here, and then when we wake up… we'll be fine."

"Thank you, Azula," Ty Lee replies faintly. The last thing she is aware of is the Princess curling up beside her and pair of arms winding around her bicep.


	12. Fate Is Forgiving

Azula wakes up completely disoriented. She is on her stomach and the ceiling is spinning.

Wait.

Why is there a ceiling? They were in the woods.

She sits up and immediately feels dizzy. She presses a hand to her head and squeezes her eyes shut, before blinking a few times to test herself and finally looking around.

She is in a small room in some sort of rickety building. A glance out the window tells her she is on the second floor. She is sitting on a bed, and there is a blanket covering her legs. Her shirt and chest bindings are missing. On the other side of the small room, Ty Lee is lying in another bed, still unconscious. Some sort of ointment is slathered all over her back. Azula guesses that explains the strange cold sensation she feels on her own back. At least the itching is gone.

Azula throws her legs over the side of the bed and stands up. She still feels slightly nauseated, but she does not think she is at risk for throwing up again just now. She creeps over the squeaky floorboards to the door.

She can hear hushed voice coming from down the hallway, a man and a woman.

"…don't know who they are," the woman is saying.

"Well, what was I supposed to do, Tokka? Leave them out there to die?"

She retreats from the door and begins to look around the room for their belongings. She finds her shirt and bindings folded atop a chair, Ty Lee's beside them. Ty Lee is still about as responsive as a rock, of course. Her head is turned towards Azula, the left side of her face smashed against the pillows and one arm hanging off the side of the bed. She looks younger even than she did when she left for the circus. Azula has a strong urge to reach out and brush the hair away from her face, but instead, she curls her hand into a fist and takes her clothing from the chair.

She door creaks open behind her, and she jumps and whirls around, covering her chest with her arms. She hates that she is embarrassed by her own body now. She used to be bathed by servants, and, objectively, she knows that she is beautiful.

The woman who belongs to the voice stares in surprise for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry, dear. I thought you were both still asleep." She has a kind voice, Azula cannot help but think, the kind of voice that would make anyone else trust her. She is heavyset and her dark brown hair is greying.

"Well, you were wrong," Azula answers coldly. "Leave me so I can get dressed."

"You don't want to wear that," the woman replies. "That ointment needs another hour to really kick in. You need something loose. Here." She makes her way to an old chest near the door and pulls out a large, brown tunic. "This used to belong to my son, but it'll do fine for your purposes."

Azula snatches the shirt from the woman's hand, eyeing her suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"Oh, how silly of me," the woman replies. "My name is Tokka. My husband's hunting party found you and your friend out in the forest this morning. He brought you back here. Now," she turns and starts back toward the door. "I'll leave you to get dressed. When you're finished, come on down to the kitchen for some dinner."

Azula chances one last glance at Ty Lee, taking in the peaceful rise and fall of her back, before pulling the shirt over her head and gently down her back and leaving the room.

* * *

The kitchen turns out to be an alcove of the living area to the right of the stairs that houses a wood-burning stove and a basin. "We made you a plate," Tokka calls to her when Azula reaches the first floor. She is seated at a small table beside a burly man with a rather unruly beard.

"There she is," he booms. "You're looking a lot better than the last time I saw you."

"This is my husband, Roe," Tokka explains. "He's the one who found you."

"Please to meet you." Roe holds up a hand. "And you are?"

"Sima," she answers as she takes a hesitant step towards the table. She does not like being in this house with these strangers. It makes her feel trapped, but she cannot go anywhere until Ty Lee wakes up anyway, so she supposes she should accept the food while she has the opportunity.

"So what brings you and your friend to our neck of the woods, Sima?" Roe asks as she takes a large bite of a slice of bread. Maybe it is the fact that she has not eaten and kept down a meal in two days, but Azula suddenly finds that she is starving.

"My… friend and I…" she begins, remembering that Ty Lee had not introduced them as cousins to the family in the drill. "we're…" desperately, she calls on all of the Earth Kingdom geography she remembers to make up a cohesive story, "we're on our way south. Our village was destroyed during the war, and we were staying with my relatives, but they recently died." It is not a very detailed story, but it is just the right amount of tragic to garner sympathy, hopefully enough that this peasant couple will feel too guilty to question her honesty.

"We're sorry to hear that," Tokka replies, covering her husband's hand with her own. "But you're about as south as you can get on this peninsula."

"What?" Azula asks. "What do you mean."

"She means just what she said," Roe answers. "The ocean's just on the other side of town. Where is it exactly you're trying to go?"

Azula shrugs, carefully arranging her expression into one of concern and helplessness. "We don't know, but there's nothing north. Except for Ba Sing Se, but we'd never get in there. We don't have papers."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to," Tokka tells her. "As you can see, we've got plenty of room." She gestures around the bottom floor of the house and, following Tokka's motion with her eyes, Azula seriously begs to differ. "That room you're sleeping in used to belong to our sons," she explains. "But… they haven't lived here in a long time."

"Oh?" Azula asks. "Did they leave when they were old enough?"

"They died in the war," Roe answers, and Azula presses her lips together and does not speak again for a while.

"Sima," Tokka says after several moments of silence. Her voice is suddenly sugary sweet, like she is broaching a subject she knows will be sensitive. Azula wishes she just wouldn't broach it at all. "I couldn't help but notice when I was tending to your rash… that scar on your back… it looks like a burn. Did that happen when your village was destroyed?"

It takes all of the restraint the Princess possesses not to scowl. "Yes," she answers, shortly. "I was twelve." That is not a lie.

"Oh," Tokka replies. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Azula answers. "It was a long time ago."

"And that girl upstairs," the woman presses. "Your friend…"

"Ty Lee," Azula supplies.

"Ty Lee," Tokka repeats. "Did she come from your village too?"

"No," Azula lies. "We met on the road."

"Well," Tokka says as she shovels rice onto her chopsticks. "It's nice that you found someone to travel with."

"Yes," Azula agrees. "If you don't mind," she stands up, "I'm going to go check on her now."

"Of course, honey, of course," Tokka assures her. "Take your plate. You've barely eaten anything."

Azula snatches the plate from the table and excuses herself back up the stairs to sit with the only person she wants to be around.

* * *

It is completely dark when Ty Lee wakes up. The first thing she realizes is that she is in a bed. She has not slept in a bed since the ship from the Fire Nation. The second thing she realizes is that this means she is alive. The third thing she notices is that something heavy is pinning her feet to the mattress.

She sits up slowly and rubs her eyes. She becomes aware that her shirt is missing at the same time she becomes aware that the dark mass huddled at the end of her bed is Azula. She is leaning against the wall, knees pulled up to her chin, breathing deeply. There is another bed on the other side of the room, Ty Lee realizes as her eyes begin to adjust to the dark. Why isn't Azula in it?

For a moment, she considers waking her friend up, but Azula looks about as peaceful as Ty Lee has ever seen her. Perhaps the exhaustion has blessed her with a night of dreamless sleep. Ty Lee will not ruin that for her.

Her eyes fall on a plate sitting on top of her clothes on a chair near the bed. There is still food on it, the remainder of Azula's dinner, she guesses. Her stomach protests loudly at the thought and she reached over the side of the bed to take some sort of vegetable off the plate. When she takes a bite, it is crunchy, and it tastes green.

Azula stirs, nuzzling her forehead into the wall. She can be adorable sometimes, Ty Lee thinks, not that the Princess would take that as a compliment. She reaches out and touches Azula's bare foot, but immediately jerks her hand away. It is freezing. With a groan, she pulls herself out of the bed and crosses the room in three steps to pull the blanket off of the other bed. She tucks it around Azula's shoulders and her companion sighs contently.

"Ty Lee?" she mumbles.

"Yes, Azula," she answers. "It's just me. Do you want to lie down?"

Azula gives a sleepy nod and lowers herself to the bed right where she is, curling up like a cat, and she is out again. Ty Lee smiles and shakes her head. She climbs back under the covers and curls her own legs up so she will not kick her friend.

She is relieved that they are both apparently okay. She would have been devastated to come out the forest alone. Absolutely crushed. The very idea of life without Azula seems extremely odd. She has become more accustomed to the Princess' presence than she ever was before, because now, Azula is always there. She thinks that maybe she should be annoyed by that, but she… isn't? Well, Azula does get on her nerves sometimes, but overall, she is remarkably okay with their arrangement.

Through the blanket, she feels a set of fingers curl around her foot. She snickers. Azula is so much more affectionate when she is asleep. Ty Lee pushes herself back up and reaches down the bed to run her fingers through her friend's hair, pulling it away from her face.

Even in sleep, Ty Lee has never seen her look so calm. It worries her that in ten years of friendship, she does not know if she has ever seen Azula genuinely happy. Not proud, not smug, not determined, but _happy_.

She thinks about the fountain. She thinks maybe that is the closest she has ever come, since Ty Lee has known her at least. And she thinks about the kiss. She has not had much time to process it since they have been on the run, but now that they are in relative comfort and safety, she turns the thought over in her mind.

It had been sudden, exactly the last thing she had expected, because this is Azula, and Azula very rarely shows vulnerability of any kind, especially emotional vulnerability. Ty Lee had seen the look of horror on her face when she had pulled away, and then she had seen the fleeting hurt. Azula had covered it quickly, but Ty Lee _knows_ emotion. She has always known emotion better than either of her best friends. Perhaps _that_ is why Azula picked her. One of them had to be well-adjusted.

She allows herself to wonder, really wonder for the first time, if she wants it. She thinks about the day at the zoo, how Usi had practically begged to come with her, and she had been adamant that, no, she and Azula were going alone. She thinks about that last night in Ba Sing Se, when they went dancing. She could have brought one of her boys dancing if she had wanted to go so badly, but more than wanting to go, she had wanted to take Azula. When they first arrived in Ba Sing Se, her escapades, as Azula called them, had been opportunities to spend an hour now and then free of the Princess. She wonders why she stopped seeing those boys at all. At first it had been fear, of course, but then… she just hadn't wanted to. She realizes now that somehow, Azula has become the person that she most wants to spend time with.

She asks herself once again if she wants it.

She thinks that maybe she does.

* * *

Mai does not know what to do with herself. She stands in the center of the floor in the master suite of the airship, and she does not know what to do with herself. Suki has gone to have lunch with Hakoda. Zuko is due back any minute, but there is no telling what mood he'll be in. She thought officially becoming the future Fire Lady would make her life more interesting.

Speak of the devil, she thinks as the door swishes open behind her. "Mai," he whispers in greeting as he presses a kiss to her temple. A good mood, then.

"How were your meetings?" she asks without turning around.

"Toph's metalbending students are officially Republic City's elite police force," he answers triumphantly, and Mai knows she should be happy. This is something Zuko has been fighting for for months, something she wants herself, but try as she might, she just cannot seem to muster any enthusiasm. Less even than usual.

"Are you okay?" he asks when she does not respond. She breathes a long, quiet sigh. What a loaded question.

"Zuko, we've been engaged for more than six months now," she informs him.

"Did I… forget an anniversary or something?" She can hear the confusion in his voice.

She scoffs. "No," she assures him. "Do you really think I care about something like that?"

"Not really," he answers. "Then what's this about?" The concern in his voice makes her feel immediately guilty. If he cares about her this much, why is she so unhappy?

"I've looked at dresses and guest lists and performers for the reception," she explains. "But nothing is actually ordered because we still don't have a date. We've been engaged for more than six months, but we still haven't really even talked about getting married."

Zuko is silent for a moment. Then, "I didn't think that would bother you."

She turns to face him for the first time since he entered the room. "I can't live in this limbo forever, Zuko. I feel like our lives are on hold. Are we getting married or aren't we?"

"Of course we are," Zuko hurries to answer. He is silent for a moment, and then he sighs. "I guess I've sort of been putting it off."

Mai crosses her arms. "Why?" she demands.

"I guess, I've just been hoping Azula would come back," he admits.

"What, so we won't even have to get married?" Mai asks, her brow furrowed in confusion. "We both know it's going to happen eventually. We've always known that. Isn't it best that we do it now, while we're engaged?" She frowns. "I mean, I don't feel like I'm ready either, but it'll be better to have it done instead of waiting until, I don't know, I get pregnant or something."

Zuko's eyes widen. " _Are_ you pregnant?"

"No." Mai rolls her eyes. "Of course not. But I don't understand, Zuko. Is it that you don't want to marry me at all? Are you waiting for someone else?"

"No!" Zuko exclaims. "It's nothing like that! Who would I even be waiting for?"

"Then what is it like, Zuko?" Mai asks. "Because I can't just keep trying on wedding dresses forever."

"I just…" he hesitates and drops his eyes. "I just never pictured my wedding without Azula. Even when we were younger, I always thought she'd be there. Waiting to set my robes on fire during the reception… Why would you think there was someone else?"

Mai dips her head, immediately embarrassed. "I didn't," she mutters, but she can tell Zuko does not believe her. He sweeps across the room and gathers her in his arms. "I guess I just expected you to be more excited about this. I know I'm not…"

"But you don't get excited about anything," Zuko finishes. "I know. There's just so much else going on. I don't think it's really had time to sink in yet. We're getting _married_."

"I'm sorry," she adds, her voice muffled by his robe. "Of course you want your sister to be there. That's natural. Even if she would be certain to make sure that something got burnt down and our guests were whipped into a panic at least once."

"It would have been entertaining, to say the least. But I can't keep trying to wait her out," Zuko agrees. "You're right. I've been putting our lives on hold so Azula won't miss anything. We don't know how long she'll be gone. So far, Kuei isn't budging, and even if he did, how would we find her. She might…" He takes a deep breath. "She might never come back. I have to come to terms with that."

"Besides," Mai replies with a smirk. "Even if Azula does miss our wedding, I'm sure she'll be happy to set your robes on fire anyway when she gets back. Even without her bending, she'll find a way."

"I'm sure you're right." He drops a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you. You know that, right?"

She nods against his shoulder. "I love you too."

"And there's never been anyone else," Zuko assures her. "It was always you, Mai. It always will be."

"You're going to make me throw up," Mai answers, but she slides her arms around his neck and kisses him like they haven't kissed since before Kuei demanded Azula's life.

* * *

If it was up to Ty Lee, they would probably just stay with Roe and Tokka forever. She loves the way they treat her like a daughter, the she has always felt like her parents should have treated her. She loves the town. It is not freezing at night like Ba Sing Se had been, even though it is still early spring. She can walk down to the coast and hear the waves lapping against the rocks. She has missed the ocean. In the Fire Nation, it was never far away.

But Azula hates it, Ty Lee can immediately tell. Azula hardly trusts anyone, and they are living in the home of strangers. And she hates feeling dependent on anyone, let alone peasants, which is kind of funny, when Ty Lee thinks about it, considering she still can't even do her own hair.

On the second night Ty Lee is awake, the four of them eat dinner around the small table. It is so cramped, there almost isn't enough room for all of their plates.

"Sima tells us you girls met while you were traveling," Tokka comments, looking up at Ty Lee as she takes a bite.

"Oh, did she?" Ty Lee replies, kicking herself for not having the presence of mind to make sure they got their stories straight. "Yeah, that's what happened."

"So why were you so far from home?" Tokka prods.

"Oh," Ty Lee replies, feigning surprise at the question to buy herself more time. "I, uh…" Azula is looking over at her intently. She does not look particularly concerned, more amused. "Well, my family's name was disgraced in my hometown," she finally decides. Not a lie. "My father slept around and it got out."

"Those sorts of things usually do," Azula adds airily.

"Oh, honey," Tokka's answers, her voice full of the compassion that Ty Lee never received from her own parents. "I'm so sorry."

Ty Lee is not used to that kind of response. In the Fire Nation, people always wrinkled their noses and asked her if she was sure she was actually her mother's daughter. Azula and Mai did not do that, or at least not as much as everyone else, which was a large part of the reason they are her best friends, but they had never really seemed to care how any of it was affecting her either. Mai usually pretended nothing had even happened. Azula told her to rise above them all and pound them into ash beneath her feet if it really bothered her so much. The compassion is strange.

"Now that we're healthy, we can probably leave soon," Azula says, changing the subject, for which Ty Lee is grateful. "Did either of you happen to call a physician while we were unconscious? Do you know what caused it?"

Roe shakes his head. "You won't find a physician in this village."

Azula crosses her arms and looks away indignantly. "I should have known."

"But I recognize the rashes," he continues. "We used to see them on Fire Nation soldiers we found in the woods all the time."

"What was it?" Ty Lee asks, propping her chin on the back of her hands.

"You get it from eating raw fish," Roe explains. Immediately, Azula turns her head to Ty Lee in a scowl.

"I told you we should cook them," she growls, her teeth bared. Ty Lee simply shrugs apologetically and finds Azula's hand with hers, lacing their fingers together. Azula looks down at their joined hands with wide, questioning eyes, and hesitantly, Ty Lee smiles.

"You know," Roe is continuing. "It's odd that two Earth Kingdom girls wouldn't know not to eat raw fish. Especially two who have been living in the wilderness for so long."

"Well, it hasn't exactly been long," Ty Lee answers, because Azula does not seem to have recovered from her surprise. "We didn't leave that long ago. We wanted to build a fire, but we… lost our piece of flint." She is lying on the fly, hardly thinking of the consequences. It feels reckless, but Roe seems to accept it.

"Well, I'm glad we found you when we did," he replies with a solemn nod. "Another half a day and you'd have been goners."

"Thank you," Ty Lee answers. "Really. For everything you've done for us."

"It's our pleasure." Tokka smiles warmly. "It's been nice having someone in the upstairs bedroom again."

* * *

"You didn't make us cousins," Ty Lee comments as she pulls her shirt off to change into the long tunic Tokka gave her to sleep in. Azula is perched on the bed. She excused herself after dinner to change before Ty Lee came upstairs. She is no longer the self-confident teenager who strutted down the beach in a bikini and tried to flirt with boys on Ember Island, and she hates herself for it.

"You didn't introduce us as cousins to that family in the drill," Azula explains. "I thought maybe you didn't want to do that anymore."

"Oh…" Ty Lee murmurs. "I completely forgot about that."

Azula's stomach twists uncomfortably. Maybe she'd been wrong to take it as a sign of hope. Maybe Ty Lee had been caught off guard and _friends_ was just the word that popped into her mind first. They are friends, after all. She shakes the thought from her head. Of course there is no hope, she has known that for days.

Ty Lee pulls the tunic over her head and sinks down into the bed beside Azula. "I'm sorry I almost killed us with raw fish."

Azula sighs and shakes her head. "It's not like I was coming up with any better ideas."

"Still," Ty Lee replies. "I think one of us needs to learn how to make a fire."

"It won't be me," Azula answers, because learning how to make a fire with her hands means surrendering in defeat. Learning to make a fire with her hands means admitting to herself the possibility that she will never regain her firebending.

Ty Lee apparently misunderstands. She grabs one of Azula's hands again, sending sparks up the Princess' arms, and turns it over so that her palm is facing up. It has been over a month since the riot, but the scars on her hands are still fading, she skin oddly shiny and smooth. Ty Lee runs her fingers over it. "They're healing so nicely."

Azula wants to tell her that, no, they are absolutely _not_ healing nicely _at all_ , that her skin feels stretches to the breaking point every time she flexes her fingers, that her sense of touch is still muffled. But she will not say any of those things, because pain is a weakness just as much as fear. Azula remembers the night after Zuko was banished. She sat at the dinner table with her father as he laughed at the sound of his son's screams, laughed at his weakness, and Azula had smiled and forced herself to laugh too, even though it made her stomach hurt. That night, when he came into her room after the lights were put out for the first time, she did not make a sound even though it felt like her body was being ripped in half, because she was not like Zuko. She bent lightning. She was _strong_.

She misses that strength. She has not felt it since the comet.

Ty Lee's fingers curl around Azula's palm in her lap, and the Princess is pulled from her thoughts by the realization that this is the second time today that Ty Lee has held her hand, and she is utterly confused by it. She looks over at her friend, and finds that Ty Lee is returning her gaze, the expression on her face as serious as when she came to the asylum to ask if they were still friends. She looks like she is thinking hard about something, and Azula wants to tell her not to hurt herself, but the words will not come, and besides, something instinctual is telling her that now is not the time.

Ty Lee moves haltingly toward her, like she either does not know if she really wants to do what she is doing or she just lacks the impetus to make it happen. Azula feels like her heart has stopped. Her body is frozen, waiting for the other girl to _make a decision already_.

Ty Lee's free hand clutches the Princess' far shoulder and pulls it toward her as she throws caution to the wind as her lips finally find Azula's.

This is better than last time, Azula thinks absently as Ty Lee's lips move against hers and she realizes that she has no idea how she is supposed to respond, because this time it is mutual. This time Azula is not clinging to Ty Lee and hoping desperately that she will give in if Azula waits long enough. This time, instead of a sense of dread growing in her stomach with every progressive second, Azula feels like she is floating, like nothing will ever upset her again.

Ty Lee breaks the kiss, her eyes wide and searching, and Azula becomes aware that she is smiling wider than she thinks she has ever smiled before. "Was that…" Ty Lee asks breathlessly. "Was that okay?"

Azula simply laughs because obviously, _obviously_ it was okay. For this moment in time, she is not Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, who conquered Ba Sing Se before her fifteenth birthday. She is merely a seventeen-year-old girl who found just out the girl she has liked for five years likes her back, and in this moment, she cannot imagine ever wanting anything else.

Her hand is still clasped tightly in Ty Lee's lap, and the acrobat smiles shyly up at her. "You're so special too, Azula."

"What?" Azula asks blankly as she feels Ty Lee let go of her hand and a hesitant pair of arms slide around her waist.

"Remember when you said I was special?" Ty Lee is nuzzling her head into Azula's shoulder and she finds it very distracting. "The night of the riot, when I had that nightmare?"

"Oh, yes," the Princess answers, shocked that Ty Lee still recalls and shocked, once again, that she is able to speak so freely of something as childish as nightmares without feeling any shame. "I still think that, you know," she adds. "I wasn't just trying to make you feel better or… whatever else you may have thought."

"That's good to know," Ty Lee sighs into her tunic. Azula awkwardly drapes an arm around her and can feel her ribcage expand with each soft breath, and they stay like that for a while, holding each other. There is something reassuring about it, about finally having Ty Lee in her arms and being in Ty Lee's in return, Azula thinks, but, of course, she says nothing, and Ty Lee lets out a long breath and pulls away. "We should sleep. Tokka wants me up early enough to help her get the water tomorrow morning."

"I don't want to," Azula admits. She shakes her head. "I'll wake up tomorrow and everything will have been a dream." It is a ridiculous fear, she knows. Never mind the fact that this would be the first good dream she has had since Zuko's banishment nearly seven years ago. She feels like a child. And she feels ashamed about how devastated she would be to wake up and discover that none of this really happened. Most of all, she feels ashamed that Ty Lee knows. She instantly regrets having said anything.

Her companion smiles at her sympathetically, and Azula tries not to frown, because she will not let unwelcome sympathy ruin this moment. "You can sleep here," she offers. "There's not a lot of room though. Not like when we had our own bedrolls. But you'll wake up in the morning and we'll still be together, and then you'll know it was real."

Azula turns the suggestion over in her mind as she studies the bed. It is narrow. Very narrow. One of them would be practically on top of the other. A sudden rush of panic washes over her, and she jumps from the bed so suddenly that Ty Lee is nearly knocked to the floor. "I don't think so."

"Oh," the other girl replies. "Okay then." She stands up, stretches, and tucks her arms behind her back, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Azula places a hesitant, shaking hand on the side of her face, an index finger brushing her earlobe, and leans in to plant one last, quick kiss on her lips, savoring the feeling of Ty Lee's lips against hers, even though she chooses not to linger. "I just… thought I would," she explains when Ty Lee looks at her curiously, dropping her eyes and feeling her face heat up. "Since you _obviously_ don't mind."

"Azula, you're so cute," Ty Lee exclaims, clapping her hands together.

"I am _not_ ," Azula mutters as she climbs into her bed. She has succeeded thus far in not ruining the moment, but some things, she can just not abide.

A giggle slips past Ty Lee's lips. "Are too. And I know better than you, because I'm not you. End of story."

Azula rolls her eyes and lies back against the pillow. In the other bed, she hears Ty Lee do the same. Some things will never change.


	13. Fate Is Relentless

When Ty Lee wakes up, Azula is staring at her, though she pretends not to be. As soon as the acrobat opens her eyes and rolls over, Azula snaps her own eyes shut and readjusts her head against the pillow to what she probably thinks looks like a more natural sleeping position. Ty Lee smirks.

"Good morning," she yawns.

"It's not morning if you're not awake yet," Azula mumbles. Ty Lee can tell she is trying to sound like she just woke up, but she does not sound nearly disoriented enough for that. When she is not waking up from a nightmare, Azula has always been a very slow riser. It was one of the reasons she always felt the need to get up so much earlier than Mai and Ty Lee when they were traveling. So they would not see her only half awake.

Ty Lee sits up. She can hear soft pattering against the other side of the wall. It is raining, and she is glad they have a roof over their heads again. But Roe's brief suspicion from the night before haunts her. She wishes desperately that they could stay, but she knows they cannot. The town is just too small. People would have gotten to know them too well. She had had her boys in Ba Sing Se, but they had never done much talking, and then there was Wu Ling, who had been her friend, but he had never asked her many questions. She misses Wu Ling.

"Come here," Ty Lee says, scooting toward the window and watching the rain fall. She hears a creak as Azula climbs out of her bed, and then another when she lowers herself onto Ty Lee's.

Ty Lee slides her hand across the blanket until her fingers brush Azula's. She laces them together and squeezes. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's rain," Azula replies, unimpressed.

Ty Lee is unfazed. "But listen to it. It's so calming."

"I prefer fire," Azula grumbles and Ty Lee nods in agreement.

"Crackling fire is nice too," she replies. "But I think rain is just about the most peaceful thing there is." She listens to the pattering rain and the sound Azula's breath for a moment before she speaks again. "Last night wasn't a dream you know."

Another hand on hers. "I know."

When she looks over, Azula is staring at her with wide eyes. She almost looks… nervous? No, Ty Lee tells herself. No, Azula cannot be nervous. If there is one thing Princess Azula does not do, it is get nervous.

"So," Azula continues slowly. "Does this mean… does it mean…" She breathes a loud, agitated sigh. "You know what I'm trying to say, Ty Lee. Don't make me struggle through it."

"It means whatever you want it to mean, Azula," she replies, watching as her friend drops her eyes to the blanket and runs a long, pale finger along the hem. Then, slowly, hesitantly, she lowers her head to the other the acrobat's shoulder. Ty Lee inhales sharply. This is a surprise.

"Azula, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Azula snaps, her eyes drooping closed. "I'm just tired. You woke me up, remember?"

Ty Lee turns back toward the window and tries to suppress a snicker. It is almost reassuring to know that the Princess is still just as difficult as she has always been. Still, as she cranes her neck to watch the people down on the street, scarves ties around their heads to keep them dry as they do their morning shopping, she tries to keep her shoulder steady so Azula will not have a reason to pull away.

"Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere like this?" she asks absently. "I mean, not here, obviously—we can't stay—but somewhere away from a big city, where you can just go slow."

"That sounds incredibly dull," Azula murmurs.

Ty Lee is unabashed. "Kyoshi Island was kind of like this. Of course, I didn't even live there for a year before we got called back to the Fire Nation to protect Zuko, but I liked it a lot."

"Are you sorry you had to come back?" Azula asks. She suddenly sounds very serious, very urgent. It catches Ty Lee off guard.

"Not…" she considers her answer for a moment. "Not really. I mean, I liked it there. I would live there again, but I missed my friends."

"Not me though," Azula concludes. "You didn't even visit until you were assigned to guard me."

"Not because I didn't want to see you," Ty Lee explains sadly. "It was just… a scary thought. I didn't know if I wanted to see you… you know, like _that_."

"No, of course not." Azula's head is gone from Ty Lee's shoulder, and she is pulling her hand away, climbing off the bed.

"Wait," Ty Lee latches onto her fingers more tightly, turning from the window to face her friend. Azula looks livid, anger concealing thinly veiled hurt.

"Are you saying it would have been too hard for _you?_ " she asks through clenched teeth. "Did you think it would be easier to remember me as someone I can no longer be than to take me as I am? Is that it? _Was_ it easier?"

"Azula, that's not what I meant!" Ty Lee cries, before becoming acutely aware that she just nearly yelled the Princess' real name in the middle of an Earth Kingdom village. "It's just, we hadn't seen each other since you threw me in prison, and I didn't know if you'd even _want_ to see me again. Zuko said you were pretty bad and I knew it was kind of my fault."

Azula looks like she is fighting a losing battle to stay angry. "What?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "Because you were fine until Mai and I turned on you at the Boiling Rock," she explains. "If we'd stuck by you, maybe you would have stayed that way. I'm not… saying what we did was wrong. I'm not sorry I saved Mai, and I would do it again, but I'm sorry about what it did to you."

Azula slowly sits back down. She plays again with the hem of the blanket for a moment before speaking. "Mai says I was going downhill for a long time before that," she admits. "She told me she saw it coming before she even left for Omashu, if you can believe that. Besides," she sighs. "Things started falling apart after Zuko left. If there's anyone to blame, it's him."

"Aww," Ty Lee replies. "You missed your brother?"

"I did not _miss_ him," Azula snarls. "My life was simply better when he was in the palace."

She remembers the night after the invasion on the Day of the Black Sun. She'd known as soon as she saw him that something was very wrong.

_"Your brother is a traitor," he'd whispered, his voice deadly. "You lied to me."_

_And then she'd been on her stomach, face forced into the pillow, a hand splayed across her back holding her down, burning her. She had squeezed her eyes shut, and though the pillowcase had grown damp where her eyelids met the satin, she had not made a sound. At least the pain of the burn had taken her mind off of everything else._

Azula's eyes have glazed over and it makes Ty Lee very nervous. Hesitantly, she moves once again to cover the Princess' hand with her own, reassured when she does not pull away. "Do you… want to talk about it or something?"

Azula shakes her head. "No," she answers forcefully. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Okay." Ty Lee does not press, even though she would be very surprised to discover that what Azula is telling her is the truth. She picks her companion's hand off the bed and pulls, silently imploring Azula to move closer. When she does, Ty Lee wraps an arm around her waist, and pulls her close enough that the sides of their bodies press together. "There's nothing wrong with the way you are now," she murmurs. Azula does not show any sign of having heard her.

They watch the rain in silence.

* * *

The beach on the southernmost part of the Earth Nation peninsula where the village is located is far rockier than any beaches Ty Lee has ever visited in the Fire Nation. Personally, she does not really mind. Climbing on the rocks is fun, and she does not miss the sand. She always feels like she is still covered in it two days later. It does not seem to suit Azula, however.

"This place is hideous," she comments as they make their way down to the water the day after the rain storm. Ty Lee is in front, happily jumping from rock to rock. Azula brings up the rear, holding her arms out to keep her balance on the still-wet stones and looking much less steady on her feet than Ty Lee has ever seen her. "It's not even a real beach."

"Yes it is," Ty Lee chirps. "There's the water, and here's the land. See? Beach."

"Why are we even here?" Azula groans. "This is ridiculous."

"Oh, stop complaining," Ty Lee calls over her shoulder. "You know you're having fun."

"I most certainly am not," Azula grumbles, but Ty Lee does not think she is supposed to hear her.

"We're exploring," the acrobat answers. "Don't tell me you'd rather sit in that bedroom and sulk all day about how much you hate it here. Maybe if you actually let yourself enjoy it—"

"You said exactly the same thing about Ba Sing Se, and look how that turned out," Azula reminds her, slipping on a wet rock, but catching herself before she falls.

"Ba Sing Se wasn't that bad," Ty Lee argues.

"Maybe not for _you_ ," Azula mutters, and it hits Ty Lee like a ton of bricks what her friend did to keep them there as long as they were.

"I'm so sorry, Azula," she whispers, turning to face the Princess.

Azula does not look at her. "Sorry for what?" Her tone is oddly sharp.

"Nothing," Ty Lee sighs, turning forward again and hopping over to the next rock. "Just forget it."

"Whatever." Ty Lee can almost hear the other girl rolling her eyes.

"I know," she exclaims, her mood picking up again as an idea occurs to her. "We could skip rocks!"

"Do what?" Azula sounds confused and skeptical, and Ty Lee is not surprised. She is, after all, talking to a girl who, despite having a pool surrounded by perfect stones for skipping—and Ty Lee would know—right in the palace garden, dedicated her entire childhood to firebending and making sure she looked impressive, regardless of who else was in the room.

"Skip rocks," Ty Lee repeats patiently. "You know, across the surface of the water. It's fun."

"It sounds remarkably dull," Azula replies, but she follows the acrobat down toward the shoreline.

"No it's not," Ty Lee picks the roundest, flattest stone she can find and smoothes her hands over it. "How do you think I entertained myself all those days at the palace when you were in war meetings and Mai was off with Zuko."

"I just assumed you…" Azula shrugs, "cartwheeled around or something."

"Nope." Ty Lee draws her hand back and flicks her wrist. Azula watches as the stone skips four times across the surface of the water.

"Show me." She demands immediately.

"Okay," Ty Lee agrees, beaming. "Just pick up a stone, the flattest, smoothest one you can find, and then you just toss it and flick your wrist, like this. It's easy. I learned when I was like, three or something."

Azula tosses the rock, and it sinks through the water with a plunk. She picks up another one, and her result is no better. "This is stupid," she pronounces, turning her back to Ty Lee and continuing down the beach. "What's even the point. There are no practical applications for _skipping rocks_. You're wasting your talent, Ty Lee."

"I'm sorry you think so," Ty Lee calls after her. "Oh, what's that?" She points past Azula's shoulder. There is a low-hanging tree a ways down the beach. "I think there's something under it. Let's go see!"

She takes off at a sprint, springing from rock to rock with the grace of a fox antelope. "It's probably just drift wood!" she hears Azula call after her, but she does not slow down.

She reaches the tree when her friend is still only halfway from where they started. She pulls a branch back, hoping she is not stumbling into the den of a wild animal. "It's a boat!" she announces proudly.

Azula mutters something that Ty Lee cannot hear as she crawls through the branches. The rowboat is laying upside down on the rocks, as if it was being left to dry out, the oars propped neatly beside it.

"Let's take it out!" Ty Lee suggests as she pokes her head back through the branches.

"Absolutely not." Azula is much closer now, her face contorted into a deep frown that Ty Lee suspects has to do with being left behind. They could race right now, and the acrobat would beat her by a mile. Azula has never been able to handle knowing she is not the best at something well. When they showed each other flips and cartwheels in the garden as children, Ty Lee sometimes fell on purpose. When she did not, Azula usually pushed her over and then denied it, even though she knew Mai and Ty Lee had both seen her.

She juts her bottom lip out. "Why not, Azula? We'll put it back when we're done. No one will ever know."

The Princess laughs. "You think I care about that? I'm a Princess, Ty Lee. If I want to take the boat out, I'll take the boat out. I just don't want to."

"Oh." Ty Lee stands up and brushes the dirt off of her dress. "Okay then. Well, do you want to go back? I think it's almost time for lunch."

Azula shrugs noncommittally. "I suppose I could eat."

"Good," Ty Lee replies. She reaches for Azula's hand and laces their fingers together. The corners of the Princess' lips twitch in what might have been a smile if she had not stopped herself. "I'm starving."

* * *

"What did you girls do today?"

Azula wants to snap Tokka's neck when she asks. She sounds so… motherly. What Azula imagines a mother would sound like. She cannot stand it, but Ty Lee eats it up.

"We just went down to the beach," the acrobat explains. "It's beautiful down there. We skipped some rocks and we went exploring."

"That sounds exciting," Tokka replies. It takes all of Azula's willpower not to roll her eyes at the obvious patronization.

_"She's just a nice old lady," Ty Lee replied when Azula voiced her distaste._

_"You only like her because you're desperate for attention, and she treats you like a daughter," Azula argued, folding her arms across her chest._

_"You only don't like her because she treats you like one," Ty Lee pointed out, and Azula did not have a retort._

They are standing by the opening of the alcove, watching Tokka prepare dinner. Ty Lee is still gripping her hand. Tokka's eyes had lingered on them when they entered, but she has said nothing.

Ty Lee has been very touchy for the past two days, Azula has noticed. It is not that she particularly minds, but Ty Lee was always so very touchy, and now it has amplified by at least double, just because they have agreed to… what exactly? Azula does not know. They have not kissed again, but her friend's continued affectionate overtures seem to imply that they have agreed to _something_. She thinks they have left the realm of mere friendship, but she has absolutely no idea where that puts them.

"It was," Ty Lee gushes. "I found a boat."

"A boat?" Tokka repeats. "You mean you saw one from the shore?"

"No, I found one under a tree on the beach," Ty Lee explains.

"Oh," Tokka replies, a note of realization in her voice. "That must be Deng's. He likes to think he's a fisherman, but he can't even afford his own fishing boat. I wondered how he was getting out into the water every day."

"Not that this isn't all very interesting," Azula interrupts. "But when will the food be ready?"

"Soon," Tokka promises, and Azula scowls at her vagueness. "Why? Do you have somewhere to be, dear?"

"No," Azula grumbles. "Unfortunately."

"Oh, you know, I keep meaning to ask," Tokka begins. "Is Sima your real name?"

"Of course it is," Azula answers quickly as she sees Ty Lee shoot her an alarmed glance out of the corner of her eye. "Why would you even ask something like that?"

"Well, I just thought I heard Ty Lee call you something different the other morning." She shrugs. "What was it? It sounded like… Azalea, maybe? I don't know. That might not be right. I was down here, and you girls were upstairs."

"Oh," Ty Lee replies with a giggle that Azula thinks sounds far too nervous. "That's just… a nickname."

"Yes," Azula continues smoothly as Ty Lee shoots her a grateful smile. "It was my aunt's name. We looked very much alike. Everyone back in the village called me Azalea as a joke."

"It sounds Fire Nation," Tokka remarks with a hint of disapproval.

"Well, that must be because it is," Azula answers, her voice still calm, reminiscent of how it was when she lied her way onto Ba Sing Se's throne. She has missed lying. Not the kind of lying that degrades her, makes her a nearly homeless peasant, but the kind that makes her feel powerful. "My grandfather was a Fire Nation colonist. My mother's family was mixed. I don't look Earth Nation to you, do I?"

"Not now that you mention it." Tokka's voice is cooling slightly, and it makes Azula uneasy. "I thought you said your village was destroyed by the Fire Nation. Why would they destroy one of their own colonies?"

"They didn't," Azula improvises. "My grandfather met my grandmother while she was passing through a colony with her father on the way to bring good back to her village from Omashu. He ran away to be with her."

"Oh, Sima, you never told me that!" Ty Lee squeals convincingly. "That's so sweet!"

"Well, if he wanted to join the Earth Nation, he should have chosen Earth Nation names for his children," Tokka replies disapprovingly.

"My aunt hated her name until her dying day," Azula confirms with finality.

"As she should. It's a disgrace," Tokka answers. "Now, why don't you girls go wash up for dinner?"

* * *

"We have to leave," Azula states. She is pacing back and forth across the small bedroom, and Ty Lee is sitting on the bed watching her. "You saw that. She suspects something."

Ty Lee sighs. She has known this was coming. She had just hoped it would not be this soon. Azula was right. She likes it here because Tokka gives her the attention her own mother never did. If she was here by herself, she would seriously consider staying and pretending to be this woman's daughter forever. Maybe she could marry a nice boy, and they could move into their own house in the village, and Ty Lee could train warriors on a sunrise-to-sunset schedule with very little excitement in her life. But she is not by herself. She is with Azula, and they are… Ty Lee does not know exactly, but they are something.

She would not change it.

"I know," she replies, trying to keep the sorrow out of her voice. "I've been thinking the same thing for days."

"You have?" Azula stops right in front of her, looking a mixture of surprised and impressed. "I was under the impression you liked it here."

"I do," Ty Lee explains. "But I've also known since I woke up that this wasn't really an option for us. It's too small a town. People would get to know us too well, and even if they didn't, we'd be those two recluses who live in that house in the woods. If anyone came through here asking about two Fire Nation fugitives, the villagers would have known just where to point them."

Azula is silent for a moment. "What did I tell you, Ty Lee. You're very intelligent when you want to be."

"Thank you." She beams, and Azula immediately drops her eyes to the floor.

She mumbles so softly Ty Lee can barely hear her. "I know you wanted to stay."

Ty Lee shrugs uncomfortably.

"You can be angry at me," Azula continues. "I'd actually prefer it. You know I can't burn your skin off anymore."

"But I'm not angry," Ty Lee answers. "Why would I be angry?"

Azula walks toward the bed and stares determinedly out the window. "Because I keep screwing you over. That's all I've ever done, Ty Lee. You know it's true."

Ty Lee is up on her knees and crawling toward the Princess in an instant. "No, you don't. Why would you even say that?"

"You were happy in Ba Sing Se," Azula explains as the acrobat drapes an arm over her shoulders. "And we had to leave because of me. You're happy here and you have to leave because of me. You were happy in the Fire Nation and you had to leave because of me. You were happy in the circus and I _made_ you leave. He keeps telling me I'm burdening people more important than myself with my presence. _Am_ I burdening you, Ty Lee?" She speaks in the same matter-of-fact tone of voice she used to use when she was explaining strategy to soldiers, and Ty Lee finds it very unsettling.

"Of course you're not," she replies. "You're the Princess of the Fire Nation. I'm lucky to know you."

"Well, you're right about that," Azula answers, but she does not smile the way Ty Lee hoped she would.

"Besides," she continues. "Do you really think I'd pick any of those _places_ over my best friend?" Is Azula her best friend? It used to be Mai. Ty Leesupposes it does not really matter at this point. "We'll leave tonight," she promises. "And we'll find somewhere new to live, and maybe we'll even be able to stay this time."

"That would be nice," Azula admits. "I've grown rather tired of not knowing where my next meal is coming from."

"Don't worry, Azula. It'll be fine. You'll see." Ty Lee presses a kiss to her cheek and thinks she sees a blush. "Just don't fall asleep tonight. We'll go after we hear Tokka and Roe go to bed."

Azula nods and pulls herself from Ty Lee's grasp, walking toward her own bed.

"And Azula," Ty Lee calls softly after her. "Please don't fall asleep. I know what you're like right after you wake up, and it's going to look really suspicious if I'm half carrying you across town."

* * *

"Ty Lee, it's time to go."

"What?" Ty Lee yawns, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the figure above her.

"You feel asleep," Azula hisses. "Those earth peasants went into their room ages ago and I haven't heard them move for a while. It's time to go."

"I thought I said…" another yawn, "no sleeping."

"You did," Azula replies. "You just don't follow your own advice. Now get up before I leave you behind." She pulls Ty Lee into a sitting position by her shoulders and begins to rummage around the room for something. The acrobat swings her legs over the side of the bed

"You wouldn't leave me behind," she murmurs, her head still heavy and drooping in toward her chest.

"Aha!" Azula breathes. Ty Lee hears what sounds like something being dragged. "What makes you think I wouldn't?" Something soft hits her in the face. "Put those on."

Ty Lee blinks drowsily and stares at the change of clothes in her lap for a moment before answering. "You didn't leave me in Ba Sing Se when the Dai Li were chasing us. You won't leave me now that our biggest threat is a middle-aged couple." _And now that we kiss sometimes_ , Ty Lee thinks, but she does not say it.

As Ty Lee slowly changes her clothes and begins to really wake up, Azula finds the sack holding their belongings under one of the beds. By the time she has finished putting on her shoes, Azula has stuffed the sack with several changes of clothes from the trunk and left the room.

"Azula, what are you doing," Ty Lee asks when she arrives in the kitchen to find her friend rummaging through cabinets.

"Looking for food," Azula answers simply.

"We're going to steal from them?" Ty Lee questions.

"Unless you plan on not eating," Azula replies. "We know we can't fish anymore, and besides, it's not exactly like they're starving."

"And what about all those clothes?" Ty Lee moves off the food because she knows that Azula is right, and because she knows Tokka would have sent food with them anyway. "Those belonged to their sons."

"Which means they don't need them anymore," Azula explains. "Listen, Ty Lee, I know this goes against your morals or something, but this supplies is going to keep us alive."

Ty Lee sighs. "I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

They sneak out the door and into the cool, damp darkness of an Earth Kingdom spring night. "What do we do now?" Ty Lee whispers, even though there is no one around to hear them and, unlike in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, most of the windows do actually have glass. "Do you just want to start walking?"

"Yes," Azula replies with a roll of her eyes. "Because that worked out so well for us before."

"Well, do you have another suggestion?" Ty Lee asks, quickly growing chilly and wrapping her arms around her body to retain warmth.

Azula scowls. "No."

"Maybe we should just start walking down the beach," Ty Lee suggests. "If we do that, we're sure to come to another town eventually."

"And we just keep hopping from town to town until, what?" Azula asks. "We reach Republic City? We went east out of Ba Sing Se. That means if we're on a peninsula, it has to be the horn in the south-east corner of the Earth Kingdom. The United Republic is on the other side of the continent."

Ty Lee drops her eyes and shrugs. "It was just an idea."

Suddenly, Azula stands a little straighter. "I know," she says. "Come on. We're going to the beach." She clutches Ty Lee's hand an pulls her down the road.

"Why are we going to the beach?" Ty Lee asks, hurrying to match Azula's pace. "I thought you said that was a bad idea."

"It was a bad idea," Azula explains. "I have a different one. It we're on the horn, that means this body of water is Chameleon Bay. We'll get that horrible row boat you found and sail across. From there, all we need to do is find someone to take us across the Si Wong Desert and we'll be in Omashu."

"But won't people recognize you in Omashu?" Ty Lee asks. "You and the Avatar almost destroyed that city."

"Maybe." Azula shrugs carelessly. "But we won't be there very long. We'll be able to catch a ship to take us to Republic City."

"A ship?" Ty Lee raises an eyebrow.

"It's only a two or three day voyage," Azula assures her, although she sounds more like she is trying to reassure herself. "I'm certainly open to other ideas. I just thought a ship would be the most reliable."

"Maybe," Ty Lee agrees. "But, Azula, what if we're on the wrong side of the horn?"

"What do you mean, the wrong side of the horn?" the Princess snaps.

"Well, both sides can't border Chameleon Bay, can they?" Ty Lee does not know nearly as much as Azula about Earth Kingdom geography, or any kind of geography, for that matter, but she gets the impression that the peninsula they are on is a little too large to fit into a bay.

"If we're on the wrong side of the peninsula, we'll start seeing volcanos," Azula answers shortly.

"So we'll be back in the Fire Nation?" Ty Lee concludes. "The exact place we're trying to avoid?"

"It's safer than here," Azula argues.

"There's more chance someone will recognize you," Ty Lee points out.

"But less chance they'll turn me over to the Earth King," Azula replies. "There's the tree."

They are at the top of the beach, right where rock begins to break up the grass. They navigate the stones more slowly than they were able to during the day, but they finally reach the bent-over tree, and Ty Lee crawls between the branches to inspect the boat.

"It doesn't look damaged," she calls out. "It should float."

"Push it out here," Azula calls back.

"Azula," Ty Lee protests. "Wood is heavy."

She hears a mumble of "Fine," and then the branches rustle and Azula appears through the leaves. "We're going to have to roll it out," she says, tapping her chin with her index finger in thought. "We'll never be able to lift it if we can't even stand up straight."

Ty Lee wedges her shoulder under the side of the boat, and she and Azula roll it through the branches, out into the open. "Lucky we're so close to the water already." Ty Lee winces and rubs her shoulder as they stand up. "I wouldn't want to have to carry it over all these rocks."

"We'll just push it to the water," Azula decides. Ty Lee watches her brace her weight against the boat and push it over the stony beach until waves lap at her ankles. "Here," she calls, moving so that one foot it planted inside the boat to keep it in place. "Get in."

"Just a minute," Ty Lee cries, diving back through the branches.

She hears her friend sigh. "What could you possibly be doing now?"

Ty Lee reemerges, the oars gathered in her arms. "Wouldn't want to set sail without these!"

Azula looks back and forth between the boat a Ty Lee in utter disbelief for a moment before muttering, "Smart."

The acrobat scampers over the rocks and drops the oars into the bottom of the boat. She grips the side opposite Azula and they wade into the water until it slaps against the undersides of their arms.

"I think this is far enough," Azula decides. She jumps out of the water and, with a bit of flailing that Ty Lee will pretend she did not see and a lot of rocking of the boat, manages to vault herself inside. Then, before Ty Lee is ready, she reaches over the side and pulls her up by the arms until she can fling her feet up over the edge. They sit in the bottom of the boat for a moment, both panting and Ty Lee trying not to laugh.

"Ready to go?" she asks more optimistically than she feels.

Azula pulls something small and dark and sticky off of her arms and flicks it into the water. "I suppose."

"I'll row first," Ty Lee volunteers. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when I get too tired."

Without another word, Azula lies down in the bottom of the boat and rolls over. Ty Lee leans over and brushes the hair away from her face, dropping a feather-light kiss to her cheek before climbing onto one of the benches and plunging the oars into the water.


	14. Fate Is Unexpected

Ty Lee had been under the impression that Azula's nightmares had finally abated.

_"Just because something doesn't wake you up anymore doesn't mean it isn't happening," Azula told her back in Ba Sing Se._

She realizes now that she was foolish.

Now, as Azula tosses and turns and moans and whimpers at the bottom of the boat, Ty Lee desperately wishes there was something she could do to help. She wants to get down on the floor of the little dinghy with her friend. She wants to pull her into her lap and kiss her forehead and let her sleep against her chest.

She has to man the stupid oars.

Her arms ache, and she thinks that soon she will have to wake Azula up to row for her anyway. She is not sure how large Chameleon Bay is, but she can barely see the shore on one side of the water, and she still cannot see the shore on the other. Soon, they will have no way of even knowing if they are going in the right direction.

But Azula knows how big Chameleon Bay is, and Azula would not have suggested this course of action if she did not think they could make it. Ty Lee groans. She is back to blindly trusting Azula. Granted, she likes to think that Azula is a little more trustworthy now, but she is supposed to be the one in charge on this trip. She is supposed to be keeping Azula alive, paying her back for all the times throughout her life that Azula has protected her. Instead—she remember the conversation they had in the bedroom back at Tokka and Roe's house—she is just making her friend feel guilty.

The boat lurches as Azula wakes up with a violent jerk.

"Welcome back," Ty Lee calls cheerfully as the Princess looks around in confusion.

"Oh, that's right," she murmurs to herself. "We're on a boat."

"Yep," Ty Lee replies. "And you almost tipped us over."

"Be glad I didn't," Azula advises. "You would have had to come to my rescue. I can't swim."

"Sorry," Ty Lee answers. "I can't either. I guess we would have drowned together." Even with all their beaches, swimming has never been a high priority skill amongst Fire Nation nobility. Ember Island is more about the sun and the atmosphere to everyone Ty Lee has ever met. She has never seen anyone go far enough out that they could not touch the bottom. In hindsight, she realizes, trying to sail across a bay that she is beginning to suspect is huge on a tiny boat seems like a foolish idea. Ty Lee had just assumed that Azula could swim. Azula has always been able to do everything.

Except for her hair, she reminds herself with a snicker.

"Try not to make it sound so romantic," Azula replies dryly. "How long has it been?"

"Well," Ty Lee hums in thought, "It was dark when you fell asleep, and it's still dark."

"Your powers of observation are remarkable," Azula comments, rolling her eyes.

"I still don't see the shore on the other side," Ty Lee says. "How long do you think this will take?"

Azula sighs. "I don't know. I've only ever seen it on a map. It looked big, but we should be crossing the narrowest part."

"Did you sleep okay?" Ty Lee asks, and Azula glares at her.

"I slept fine, thank you."

"Azula…" She wants to tell her friend that she has been watching her torment for the past hour, but she cannot find the right words.

She is still looking for them when Azula changes the subject. "We didn't bring water."

"What?" Ty Lee asks, pulled from her thoughts before she is ready.

"Water?" Azula repeats. "We didn't bring water. How could I be so short-sighted?"

"Well, to be fair, you didn't know we were going on a boat," Ty Lee replies. "And I didn't know how big this bay was. I thought we'd be there by morning."

"I may have underestimated as well," Azula reluctantly admits.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be there soon," Ty Lee assures her. "It'll be okay."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Ty Lee, I'm afraid I can't just decide things will be okay because I want them to be." She sounds frustrated. Ty Lee can hardly blame her. Finally, she pushes herself off the bottom of the boat, wobbling slightly as she stands up. "It's my turn to paddle," she says, and it comes out like a command. "Go to sleep. Maybe we'll be able to see land by the time you wake up."

* * *

"We're getting married in the fall," Mai tells Suki as she twists her hair up into three small buns.

"Oh," Suki replies. She is standing in the doorway of the palace's master bathroom, waiting for Mai to finish her hair and makeup. The servants had been fighting each other to do it for her, of course, just like every morning, but Mai was not born into royalty. She was not even born into high enough nobility for that level of attention from the staff. Every so often, she needs to brush her own hair, apply her own eyeliner, just to remember what her life was like before. "You decided? I was under the impression you were holding off for some reason."

"Zuko wanted Azula to be there," Mai answers. "I did too, but we can't wait any longer. If she's not back by fall… we don't know if she'll ever be back. We have to start living like we know that."

Suki nods and glances back into the bedroom, one hand on her sword. Mai does not know when Suki started being some strange combination of a guard and a lady in waiting, but somehow it has happened. Ty Lee saw this coming, she realizes. It is because Ty Lee left them both. They both lost their best friend. Ty Lee has always known people. Mai should have believed her.

"Sokka and I are getting married this summer on Kyoshi Island," she says. "Sokka wanted to have the wedding in Republic City, but that's not really home for either of us, and our guests who have to travel will have a much easier time staying on Kyoshi Island than the South Pole."

"You'll have to tell me exactly when it is," Mai replies.

"Of course." Suki nods. "I'll have to arrange for someone else to guard you while I'm gone."

"I don't know why that would be necessary." Mai replaces her makeup in the wicker basket where she keeps it and tucks it under the counter. "I doubt anyone will try to attack me on Kyoshi Island. If I'm remembering correctly, the Fire Nation never invaded there."

Suki's mouth is hanging open. It is an expression Mai would expect to see on Ty Lee's face, and it is almost comical. "You're… you're coming to my wedding?"

"I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't," Mai replies. She brushes past the warrior into the bedroom. "This place can be extremely boring sometimes. I've never been to Kyoshi Island before, and I imagine Zuko will want to join me. He's never seen it in the summer. Or when he wasn't burning it down."

Suki has recovered, and her lips are curling slowing into a wide, mischievous smile. "Uh huh, admit it. You like me."

Mai rolls her eyes. "You're acting like Ty Lee."

"I'll stop when you admit it," Suki probes. "You're coming to my wedding because I'm your friend."

"I don't know why you're acting like this is all so scandalous." Mai shrugs. "It's not like I'm telling you we should start sleeping together. Grown women have friends. It's completely natural."

"So, is that a yes?" Suki asks.

Mai rolls her eyes and thinks she understands why Ty Lee was friends with this girl. "Yes. Okay? You're my friend. So I'm coming to your wedding. It's a perfectly respectable thing to do. Not that I care about that. Are you happy?"

"Very." Suki is wearing a self-satisfied smirk that Mai thinks would not have looked out of place on Azula's face, had Azula been a little bit better natured. She thinks about using it to bait Suki, because it is always fun to watch her get worked up—it is the main reason Mai enjoys Sokka's visits as much as she does—but then she remembers Azula mentioning that the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors was being tortured for information about the Avatar's whereabouts in the Boiling Rock, and, for the first time, she connects the fighter that she and her friends took down somewhere in the forests of the Earth Kingdom to the girl standing, still wearing that arrogant smirk, in the doorway of her bathroom. She decides it would be in bad taste.

"Well, I'll be at your wedding too," Suki is saying. "And not just because I'm guarding you. I'll also be channeling support. We'll be such good _friends_ by then, I'm sure we'll have developed telepathy."

It hits Mai suddenly, like an empire class Fire Nation battleship, why Ty Lee was such good friends with Suki, why she is becoming friends with Suki.

Suki is the perfect combination of Ty Lee's traits and Azula's.

* * *

"Why didn't we bring any water?" Ty Lee moans. That water is flat, and she and Azula have taken the opportunity to rest while they know they will not be pulled off course. The sun has only been up for a couple of hours, but they are already hot and sweaty, lying in the bottom of the boat for the shade it offers. Ty Lee can already feel her lips becoming chapped.

"I believe you gave provided me with a very detailed, groveling explanation several hours ago," Azula grumbles.

"I don't grovel." Ty Lee crosses her arms, her shoulder bumping Azula's. A pause, each waiting for the other to say it. "Not anymore."

"It's a shame," Azula replies. "You were always so good at it."

"You were always so good at killing people," Ty Lee points out. "And I'm really glad you don't do that anymore."

"Yes," Azula answers icily. "You've made that abundantly clear over the past few months."

Ty Lee drops her head to the side to look at her friend. "What's wrong with not wanting you to kill people? I think it seems pretty reasonable."

Azula shrugs carelessly. "Nothing, I suppose. In theory, killing people is wrong."

Ty Lee raises an eyebrow. "In theory?"

"It made me feel powerful," Azula mutters. "Just knowing I could." She turns to face Ty Lee. "Do you think I still could?"

"You were going to kill that guy in Ba Sing Se," Ty Lee points out.

"But I snuck up behind him," Azula argues. "That doesn't count. I want to know if I could look someone in the eye and kill them."

"I think…" Ty Lee hesitates. There are certainly people Azula can still kill, but Ty Lee is quite certain she is not one of them. She does not think that Mai is either. And maybe not Suki. And certainly not the Avatar. "I think it depends on who it was."

Azula sighs. "I used to be able to kill anyone I wanted."

"You know," Ty Lee twists her body and props her head up on her elbow. "It's not a good thing to kill people. That's really what you should base yourself worth on. I don't think it's healthy. There are other ways. Better ways."

"Like what," Azula demands skeptically. "Name one."

"Well…" Ty Lee watches her fingers as they trail across the bottom of the boat to skim Azula's arm. " _I_ think you're pretty great."

"I know that," Azula scoffs. "I've always known that."

"And it's not because I'm afraid of you," she finishes. "It's because I like you for you. There are other ways to build trust, you know. It doesn't have to be through fear and killing people."

"I trust no one," Azula mutters, though Ty Lee is leaning toward her, and she is too distracted by it to make an effort to sound convincing.

"I think you trust me." She does not stop until their noses are just close enough to brush against each other.

"Trust is for fools," the Princess whispers, lying very still against the wood of the boat, watching Ty Lee intently.

"I think you're a liar," Ty Lee breathes. She brushes Azula's lips with her own before pulling away, leaning back against the bottom of the boat. "In fact, I _know_ you are."

Azula is breathing heavily beside her. Ty Lee curls her fingers around her friend's upper arm and watches as she squeezes her eyes shut, and then opens them only stare at the sky in thought.

And then she turns back to Ty Lee, and the determination is gone from her expression. She studies her for a moment as if she is trying make a difficult decision. Finally she speaks. "You gave up everything you had to keep me alive. I would have to be incredibly stubborn not to trust you after all that."

"You're an incredibly stubborn person," Ty Lee answers.

Azula tries again. "I'd have to be incredibly petty."

The acrobat raises her eyebrows. "You're petty too, sometimes."

Azula groans. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

Ty Lee nods eagerly. "I want to hear it for myself."

"Fine," Azula snaps. "Itrustyou. Alright? Are you happy now?"

"Very," Ty Lee murmurs, moving toward the other girl again, only this time, when their lips meet, it is with the force of two airships colliding. She feels Azula's hands brace against her shoulders, and it feels like she is trying to bring her closer while simultaneously holding her back. It feels like she cannot make up her mind, but Ty Lee goes with it anyway.

She runs her fingers through the hair at Azula's temples and allows herself to sigh into the kiss, her breath speeding up, Azula's pulse against the side of her thumb. Her hip is pressed painfully against the bottom of the boat and her back is bent and an awkward angle, but she has been a contortionist and she has experienced much worse pain in exchange for much less gratification. Despite the throbbing radiating from the contact point between her hip bone and the wood, she feels like she is soaring. Though the hands pressing against her shoulders prevent her from closing the gap between their bodies, Ty Lee feels like this is the first time they have ever _really_ kissed. It is not hopelessly awkward, it is not one of them reaching, unsure if the other will reach back. It is the two of them together, finally acknowledging that what they want is each other.

When she pulls away, Azula is panting, looking up at her like she has never really seen her before, and Ty Lee thinks that things might have changed just now, that maybe they are no longer friends who sometimes kiss each other, that they have moved past whatever they were in the Earth Kingdom village, holding hands, kissing cheeks, but never talking about it.

"I trust you too," she replies with a wide smile.

"You've always trusted me," Azula points out, unimpressed. She is right. It does not have quite the same effect coming from someone who is quick to trust everyone.

Suddenly, Azula's brow is furrowed. "Ty Lee, I'm wet."

"That's awfully forward of you," Ty Lee answers, stifling a giggle.

"What?" the Princess asks. "I mean my back is wet. I feel like I'm lying in a puddle of water."

"Umm, Azula?" the acrobat says, sitting back on her heels and looking around frantically. "The boat is on fire."

"What?" she repeats, sitting up so quickly she nearly knocks her head on one of the benches.

"The boat is on fire!" Ty Lee cries, though, at this point, she suspects Azula already knows. There is a growing hole on the side of the boat, near the bottom, inches below the spot where Azula's right hand rested before she moved it to Ty Lee's shoulder during their kiss. Water pours in toward the floor. Fire burns up the side.

"How did this happen?" Azula demands, as though the other girl should know the answer, even though she is very well aware that Ty Lee's tongue was in her mouth when this was apparently happening.

"I don't know," the acrobat answers helplessly, picking the sack up off the floor and tossing it over her shoulder. "The sun?"

"The sun?" Azula repeats incredulously.

"I don't know," Ty Lee insists. "Azula, I think we have to flip the boat."

"We are not flipping the boat," Azula argues. "Neither of us can swim."

"It doesn't matter," Ty Lee cries as the water reaches her shins. "We're going to be in the water either way. Wouldn't you like to still have part of a boat to hold on to?"

For a split second, before she covers it up, Azula looks absolutely terrified. "Alright," she finally agrees. "What do we do?"

"We need to flip it this way," Ty Lee gestures in the direction of the whole. "Quick, move to that side. When it's completely on its side, grab the other side and jump off."

"Do what?" Azula shrieks.

"You just said you trusted me," Ty Lee reminds her. "I think this will work."

"You _think?_ "

"Grab and jump," Ty Lee yells, gripping the bag with one hand and the side of the boat with the other. Holding her breath and hoping more than she has ever hoped for anything that she is not leading both herself and Azula to their deaths, she plunges into the water.

She comes up coughing and sputtering, and she hears her friend doing the same beside her. By the time she blinks the water from her eyes, head barely bobbing above the surface, Azula is hauling herself onto the top of the boat. She turns to Ty Lee.

"Give me your hands," she instructs.

"Take this first," Ty Lee calls, heaving the bag out of the water with all of her might.

"Why do you insist on keeping this thing," Azula asks, but she takes it anyway. "You could have died. They're just things."

"Look who's so unmaterialistic now," Ty Lee grunts as Azula clamps her fingers around her forearms and pulls her out of the water.

"You wouldn't let go of it in Ba Sing Se, when we were fighting the Dai Li," Azula replies. "If risking your life for those things, is going to become a pattern, I think I deserve to know."

"The stuff in here just means a lot to me, okay?" Ty Lee hugs the bag to her. "There's the quilt my mother made for me, the only thing she ever made for me, and the beads I picked up when I was in the circus, where people really appreciated my talents for the first time, and the silk from when I lived on Kyoshi Island, the first time I ever really felt like I was home."

"And yet, you also brought those filthy playing cards and that horrible flute," Azula comments.

"I just thought I might want something to remember the first leg of our journey together by." Ty Lee shrugs. "And I thought you might too."

"How insightful of you," Azula comments. "Though I can't say I'll ever be eager to remember our time in Ba Sing Se."

"So…" Ty Lee looks around, assesses their situation. They are sitting on the top of an overturned rowboat in the middle of a body of water that they both think is Chameleon Bay, though neither of them is positive, with no land in sight. They do not even have their oars anymore. "What do we do now?"

"There's nothing to do," Azula groans. "We sit here and wait to wash up on a shore somewhere."

"This trip has just been misadventure after misadventure ever since we left Ba Sing Se," Ty Lee moans, falling backwards against the top of the boat, rocking them back and forth so that Azula braces her hands against the wood to steady herself.

"I think even Ba Sing Se was a misadventure," Azula replies. "I believe I recall someone assuring me that this would be fun."

"We've had fun," Ty Lee argues. Azula raises a skeptical eyebrow. " _Some_ fun," she amends.

"If you say so." Azula rolls her eyes. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe it was my turn to sleep. Stay awake and make sure I don't roll off the boat."

"Do I get to sleep next?" Ty Lee asks.

"Maybe," Azula replies. "But it doesn't really matter. We both know, if I go to sleep, you'll stay awake. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if I drowned."

Ty Lee knows that she is right.

* * *

The first thing Azula realizes when she wakes up is that she lying on something that feels softer than wood. She sits up, and sand sticks to her body. She is on a beach.

"Ty Lee?" she calls.

The gentle breeze sends a shiver down Azula's spine. Her clothes are wet and smell like salt. The tide laps at her legs. She stands up and spots Ty Lee lying in the sand not far away.

"Ty Lee," she repeats, hurrying over to her friend. The acrobat moans as she places a hand on her shoulder and turns her over.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asks, blinking up at Azula, clearly confused.

"You must have," Azula answers. "Unless you decided it would be good idea to just allow me to sleep as we crashed into the land."

"What?" Ty Lee sits up quickly, her forehead nearly colliding with Azula's. "Where are we? Where's the boat?"

"The boat is over there." Azula points to the rowboat, still overturned with a hole in the side, trapped in the sand, waves beating against the wood. "As far as where we are, other than an actual beach, I don't know."

Ty Lee pulls herself to her feet and looks around. "A lot of mountains," she murmurs. "Wait, Azula, over there!"

She is pointing between the peaks of two mountains, where Azula can see a small collection of towers jutting into the sky. She gasps. "It's an air temple."

"We should go," Ty Lee suggests, tugging at her sleeve.

Azula grimaces. The last time she was at an air temple, she nearly fell to her death trying to murder her brother, and, for the first time, not on her father's orders. Her friends were gone. She had already seen her mother's face in the mirror. "Why would you want to go to an air temple?" she snaps.

"Hello?" Ty Lee looks at her like the answer should be obvious. "Because they have _roofs_. Unless you just want to camp out here on the beach forever."

Azula reluctantly sighs. "Well, if we're going to leave, we should at least pull the boat out of the water."

"Good idea, Azula," Ty Lee agrees cheerfully. You would hardly know they were shipwrecked.

They pull it just past the tree line, where they cover it with branches for safe keeping. "Who would anyone even want to steal a boat with a hole in it?" Azula scoffs as Ty Lee arranges the foliage expertly to conceal it.

She shrugs. "Maybe for the wood?"

"Look around, Ty Lee," Azula argues. "There's driftwood all over this beach."

"Okay, but when we come back and the boat is gone, you're the one who has to build a new one," she answers. "I think it's hidden enough now, anyway. Come on." She grasps Azula's hand and pulls her into the forest toward the temple.

It is a shorter walk than Azula expects it to be, or perhaps she is simply used to a lot of walking by now. She feels distain at the thought. She used to ride everywhere on a palanquin. Now she thinks nothing of walking miles.

Ty Lee does not drop her hand until they reach the base of a steep, rocky incline. "I think we'll have to climb from here."

Azula raises her eyebrows. "We're going to climb that?"

"Of course," Ty Lee answers, as if she doesn't expect it to be a problem. "It's really easy. I used to climb on buildings all the time. Come on." And with that, she runs her hands along the rock until she finds a handhold and hoists herself up.

"Shouldn't there be…" Azula groans in frustration. "I don't know, stairs or something?"

"They were _airbenders_ , Azula," Ty Lee replies. "They didn't need stairs. They had gliders and flying bison. And they probably barely left the temple anyway. They were monks, you know."

"Everyone knows they were monks. When did you get so knowledgeable about airbenders?" Azula grumbles, gritting her teeth and pulling herself up onto the wall of rock, grudgingly following Ty Lee's lead.

"When I started talking to the Avatar," she calls down. "You know, he could actually teach you a lot about—"

"I do not need to be taught by the Avatar," Azula snaps. "The Avatar is a child."

"He's actually a hundred and fifteen years old," Ty Lee prattles on. "He knows all kinds of things about meditation and spirits and—"

"Basically everything that's in the job description for being the Avatar, but that will never benefit me," the Princess interrupts. "Unless he can appear right here, right now, with that awful hairy beast to take us to the top of this mountain, I'm not interested."

"We're close," Ty Lee calls over her shoulder.

"You're lying to make me feel better," Azula calls back. "Poorly, I might add. We've barely left the ground."

By the time they actually do reach the top of the incline, Azula feels like her arms are about to fall off. She collapses against the stone floor, her chest heaving, and watches Ty Lee stand up and look around. "Azula, this place is beautiful."

Azula glances at the buildings around her. "It's in ruins," she sneers.

"Yeah, because it was invaded," Ty Lee replies. "But, look, you can totally see how gorgeous it used to be."

"I don't care how it used to be. I care how it is now," Azula mutters, her eyes drooping closed. "And I care about whether we can find a room without a hole in the ceiling to sleep in."

"Well, let's look then," Ty Lee suggests. Azula feels hands on her own, and she is being pulled to her feet.

They climb a wide set of stairs and go through a doorway. The Air Nomads were never extravagant, Azula knows that, but she has to admit that Ty Lee is right. This temple must have been gorgeous in its day. They are in a wide hall with a high ceiling, though not as high as the palace in the Fire Nation, a row of pillars on either side of the door, lining a path through the center of the room. Vegetation grows through the cracked floor, where bits of the roof are scattered.

"Look," Ty Lee points to her left. "Stairs."

Apparently there is a staircase carved into the side of the mountain. "I will kill you," Azula hisses through clenched teeth, but Ty Lee only laughs. Four years ago, she would have shrunk away in terror. "The airbenders didn't need stairs. They had flying buffalo." She makes her voice unnaturally high and girlish, and Ty Lee gets the message.

"Aang didn't tell me about the stairs," she explains, as if Azula cares _why_ she was forced to scale a mountain needlessly.

They find the bedrooms up a narrow, spiraling staircase. They are down wide hallways lined with windows. They have beds.

When they enter one of the rooms, Azula falls into the bed immediately. It is built into the wall, and she feels like she is in a cave, protected from three sides. Ty Lee moves to the window.

"Wow," she gasps. "You can see the entire rest of the temple from here."

"I doubt that," Azula replies, turning to face the wall. "Considering it goes all the way around the mountain."

"Not just this mountain," Ty Lee breaths. "There are two others. Look."

"I'll look later," Azula promises, because she is sure she will at some point. "I'm too tired right now."

"The Air Nomads must have been amazing architects," Ty Lee continues. Azula rolls her eyes at the wall.

"If you're going to keep talking to yourself, go find another room to do it in," she commands. "I'm sleeping in this one."

"I guess the sun _is_ going down," Ty Lee agrees. "I bet the sunset looks beautiful from up here. Want to watch it, Azula?"

"I want to sleep," Azula grunts.

"Maybe tomorrow," Ty Lee replies, and the Princess grunts again in response. Azula has never understood the fascination with sunsets. She has always hated them, always hated night. Sunrise is better. Sunrise used to make her feel powerful. When she was younger, she used to pretend she could feel the fire churn in her veins, rising with the sun.

The bed dips beside her. She looks over her shoulder. Ty Lee is perched on the edge of the mattress, kicking off her shoes.

"The temple is huge," she comments. "You can't find your own room?"

"Oh." Ty Lee looks down and away, toward her feet. "I just thought… now that we…" She shakes her head. "I don't know what I thought. It's just been so long since I slept alone, I guess. Not since I lived on Kyoshi Island." She chances a glance back at the Princess. She looks remarkably dejected. "I'll go if you want me to."

Azula sighs. She has not slept alone since she left the asylum, where voices used to whisper at her from the walls. He always comes to her when she is alone for too long. Perhaps this is for the best. The sound of Ty Lee's breathing seemed to keep him away most nights in Ba Sing Se. Once Azula pushed their bedrolls together, they had practically shared a bed in Ba Sing Se, anyway. Reluctantly, she slides over. "I suppose you can sleep here if you really feel like you need to."

She makes it entirely Ty Lee's fault, but the acrobat says nothing about it. She simply smiles and tugs the blankets out from under the Princess. She slips under them and holds them up until Azula buries herself in them as well. She is boxed in on all four sides, and she does not feel trapped like she thought she might. She feels safe.

"Goodnight, Azula." A pair of lips brush against her cheek. Ty Lee slides her arms around one of Azula's, the way she used to when they were cousins walking through the streets of Ba Sing Se together, before Azula first kissed her and confused everything. She nuzzles into the curve of Azula's bony shoulder and is asleep within minutes.

Once her breath as evened out, Azula reaches over and brushes the hair away from her forehead, runs a hand down her braid, rough and disheveled from being submerged in salt water and lying in the sand. She presses her lips to the acrobat's forehead, in a display of pure tenderness that she would absolutely not show if the other girl was awake.

She thinks that they are together now. With this final decision to allow Ty Lee into her bed, even if only in the literal sense of the word, she thinks they are together.


	15. Fate Is Bitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are also reading _Glass Hearts, Paper Souls_ , there will not be an update this week because things have been really hectic, so I skipped the update to try to get ahead. This one is still going up because it's pre-written through chapter 24.

When Azula wakes up, light is streaming through the window, and Ty Lee is nowhere to be found. She still smells of salt and her hair feels rough and knotted, but at least she feels relatively well rested. She did not sleep well, per se, but she never sleeps well. The bed at the air temple is more comfortable than the one at Tokka and Roe's house, and much more comfortable than sleeping against trees or at the bottom of the boat.

She pulls herself out of bed and pads across the room with bare feet, glancing out the window as she does. Ty Lee was right. The view is absolutely breathtaking. The Air Nomads must have been geniuses to build a sprawling temple across three mountain tops. If they had not been so peaceful, they would have been extremely dangerous. Even if the Avatar had not been one of them, Azula would have understood why her great-grandfather saw fit to attack them first.

The wide hallway outside the bedroom is empty. She hurries down the stairs, and as she approaches the bottom, she can hear voices.

Ty Lee is standing in the middle of the hall between two pillars talking to bald man with a long, white beard who is dressed in rags.

"Azula!" Ty Lee exclaims when she spots her. "You're awake." She turns to the old man. "This is the girl I was telling you about."

She runs over to her and presses a kiss to her lips that takes Azula by surprise. Then Ty Lee seizes her hand, and pulls her to the man. Up close, he looks extremely old but in remarkably good shape. There is a defined musculature underneath the wrinkles, and Azula can only hope she fares so well in her old age.

"Azula, this is Guru Pathik," Ty Lee informs her. "He's a hundred and fifty-four years old. Isn't that amazing? He was friends with the airbenders when they were alive."

"And you told him my real name?" Azula mutters to her. "I thought you wanted to stay in one place for a while."

"Guru Pathik doesn't care," Ty Lee explains as if the suggestion is completely ridiculous.

"I was having an enchanting conversation with you friend about chi," the man adds.

"He can tell things about you by reading your chi," Ty Lee continues, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. "That's more than even I can do. He said I was so full of trust he almost couldn't find any fear and that I put loyalty above all else and that I have a giving heart." She turns to the old man. "Do Azula next."

"That won't be necessary," Azula quickly raises a hand. "I'm destined to hold great power. That's all I need to know about myself." It is a lie.

"Okay, then," Ty Lee replies, and Azula can tell she is doing her best to hide her disappointment. She would not expect Ty Lee to understand. Ty Lee has always been an open book, very little to hide. Mai would sympathize, but, of course, Mai is not here. "Come on, Azula." Ty Lee is pulling her by the hand toward the staircase that runs along the side of the mountain.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"To clean up," Ty Lee answers. "I washed all the clothes you brought so they won't smell like the ocean anymore, but we need to wash our hair. Guru Pathik said there was a stream down there somewhere. I'll do yours and then you can do mine."

Azula raises her eyebrows. "You want me to wash your hair?"

"Well, yeah. Who else is going to do it?" Ty Lee shrugs. "It's not like Mai's here."

"You mean you don't want to invite your new best friend?"

"Guru Pathik is a very nice man," Ty Lee answers defensively. "He trained the Avatar to control the Avatar state."

"Another skill that will never benefit me." The Princess yawns pointedly.

The journey down the mountain is much easier with the stairs, Azula finds, even if they are narrow and she has to lean against the rock to feel like she is not about to fall. Ty Lee is ahead of her, bounding down the steps and seeming relatively unconcerned about the prospect of falling to her death.

They can already hear the rush of water when they reach the bottom. "That's probably why the airbenders choose these three mountains," Azula guesses when Ty Lee comments about how nice it is that the stream is so close.

They find a spot of the bank that is mostly rock and is not too muddy, and Azula lies back, letting her hair fall into the water.

"It's just like being back in the Earth Kingdom during the war," Ty Lee remarks. Azula can feel her beginning to work her fingers through her hair. "I almost feel like we should have a tent set up close by."

"It feels the same…" Azula replies slowly. "But it doesn't."

Ty Lee glances at her face before returning her focus to the knots in her hair. "What do you mean."

"I mean it should feel the same," she explains. "But it doesn't. It feels different."

"Well, a lot has changed," Ty Lee sighs. "It's not the three of us hunting the Avatar anymore. We're fugitives and Mai might be the Fire Lady by now."

"They're not married yet." Of that, Azula is certain. "We'd have heard, even in Ba Sing Se."

"I can't believe we're going to miss the wedding," Ty Lee mutters, her lips twisting into a frown.

"We don't know that," Azula answers. "Knowing my brother and Mai, they'll just keep putting it off until one of them dies of old age or boredom. Besides, I could get captured tomorrow and you could go back home. There's really no telling what could happen."

"You won't get captured," Ty Lee assures her. "Who's going to find us here? It's an air temple. It's deserted."

"I don't know, the Avatar, maybe," Azula spits, because idea of hiding out in a structure sacred to the Avatar in the company of one of his mentors does have some very glaring pitfalls.

"Aang wouldn't turn us in." She does not know how Ty Lee can possibly sound so sure of herself. He had been… kind when they were looking for her mother, but Azula knows from when Zuko used to tell her about his meetings that he is friends with the Earth King, even if—Azula smirks—the word, king, only describes him loosely. Some people simply do not deserve to be born into royalty. Men who would much rather be professors at Ba Sing Se University rank high up on that list. Of course, years ago, she would have said mental patients did to. "He believes in second chances," the acrobat adds resolutely.

Azula sighs. "Wouldn't this be about my seventh chance?"

She feels the familiar twisting of Ty Lee ringing her hair out over the stream. "Okay," she says. "You do me, and then I'll braid it for you."

"I don't want braids." Azula sits up and runs her fingers through her hair. She does not miss Ty Lee's abrupt subject change, but she chooses to let it slide without comment. "We're not in the Earth Kingdom anymore. I'm tired of braids."

"Oh, okay," Ty Lee replies as she takes Azula's place on the rock and lies back. "I'll do something else then. Something Fire Nation. How about that?"

"Much better," Azula agrees.

She surveys Ty Lee's hair as it ripples over the stones at the bottom of the stream. It has gotten very long. Azula's has too, but Ty Lee's hair was longer to begin with. She runs her hands over it, unsure of where to begin.

"Just run your fingers through it until you find a knot," Ty Lee instructs. Her legs are crossed at the ankles and her eyes are closed, like she is preparing to take a nap. It might be a long one, Azula thinks as she sets her mind to untangling the first knot she finds.

In the end, she is grateful that Ty Lee's hair was braided when they overturned the boat, because otherwise, the task surely would have taken all day, but Ty Lee sits back up, quickly reweaving her hair, only a half an hour after lying down. "You did a great job, Azula," she says, managing to make it sound less patronizing than Azula thinks it should.

She takes a seat behind the Princess, and Azula can immediately feel hands tugging at her hair, twisting it, pulling it. "What are you doing?" she demands. "This doesn't feel like a topknot."

"That's because it's not," Ty Lee answers. "I thought we'd try something new." Azula feels her ribbon lick against the back of her neck. "Ta da!" Ty Lee announces. "It's done. What do you think?"

Azula crawls back to the edge of the stream and studies her reflection in the water. The face staring back at her is one she has not seen in years, not since, months after seeing her face in every reflection until she had tried to kill her in a tiny village in the rural part of the Fire Nation, the woman came flesh and blood to her bedside and the asylum with tears in her eyes.

_"I have always loved you, Azula…_

She gasps and falls back on her heels, away from the water's edge.

_I just didn't think you cared."_

"Azula?" Ty Lee sounds concerned. "Are you okay?"

Half of her hair is pulled loosely into a high bun at the back of her hair. The rest hangs free, all the way down her back.

"I look like my mother."

"Oh, Azula, I'm sorry!" Ty Lee exclaims. "Do you want me to do something else with it?"

"No," she answers, slapping the other girl's hand away. "It's fine the way it is."

"Okay," Ty Lee replies, slowly. "But let me just do one thing. She separates two strands of hair at either side of the Princess' forehead and yanks them from the bun more effortlessly than Azula thought possible. "There. Take another look."

Ty Lee has given her her trademark bangs, the ones she always had when she wore a topknot, the ones she thinks she must have had since she first grew hair. She still looks like her mother, but now she can see herself in her reflection.

"Better." She nods approvingly.

_"Of course I cared, Mother."_

* * *

All things considered, Azula finds she does not mind the air temple. The guru stays out of her way, for the most part, though sometimes Ty Lee disappears to converse with him. They seem to get along. Azula finds his presence… unsettling. She feels like they are talking about her. What else is there to talk about, really?

They find a room holding only a table with a Pai Sho board on it two days after their arrival.

"Ooh, Azula, let's play!" Ty Lee exclaims, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Pai Sho is for monks and old men," Azula replies. "Do I look like either of those to you?"

"I used to play with the other warriors on Kyoshi Island," Ty Lee says. "It's really fun."

"My uncle plays Pai Sho," Azula spits. "I will not do anything that my uncle enjoys on principle."

"I think your uncle's funny," Ty Lee admits. "And really nice. When we went to Ba Sing Se with Zuko, he always gave us free tea. As much as we could drink."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your little vacations with my uncle and brother," she answers. "He's substantially less nice when he's trying to kill you."

She hears shuffling behind her, and Ty Lee is at her side, her hand on Azula's shoulder. "He wasn't trying to kill you."

" _Zuko_ wasn't trying to kill me." A hallow, bitter laugh escapes her mouth. "Though I suspect he might have been planning on it before he disovered I'd _lost my mind_." She turns to look at her companion, and Ty Lee's face is shrouded in worry. "Uncle was trying to kill me. Of that, I am sure."

"But why would he want to do that?" Ty Lee whispers. She looks like she is trying to decide whether or not to feel betrayed, and Azula almost wants to tell her the truth.

Almost.

"Jealousy," she answers, turning back to the window, because she just cannot bear the look on the acrobat's face. "Because his son was the glory of the Fire Nation, and his son was killed. And because I was twenty years younger than him and I took his place without breaking a sweat. He was jealous of my father. He always has been, ever since my grandfather passed him over."

"I… I don't think that's true, Azula," Ty Lee replies hesitantly. "I've talked to your uncle. He doesn't want to be the Fire Lord. He said he stopped wanting it after his son died."

"Well, then, I have absolutely no idea." The Princess shrugs and hopes she sounds casual enough to fool her friend. "Perhaps he simply felt the world was too small for two of Ozai's children and he decided he liked Zuko better."

Ty Lee pulls her hair aside and presses a kiss to the back of her neck that sends a shiver rippling down her spine. "Azula…"

She yanks her arm from Ty Lee's grasp and walks to the side of the table. She hooks her foot under the game board and flips it to the floor. The wood pieces clatter against the stone. "We're not playing Pai Sho."

She leaves Ty Lee, still standing at the window staring at her with her mouth hanging open. She can see the guru meditating on the pillar, so she does not go outside. She does not need to feel like she is being watched by an old man who thinks she knows her because he can read auras and would probably love to play Pai Sho with Ty Lee.

She turns down a corridor, and then down another corridor, and then down a staircase. When she reaches the bottom, she is in another hallway. She thinks for a moment about which direction to go, but at one end, she can see light, and at the other end is only darkness. She chooses light.

She comes out in a long hall. The roof is almost completely missing, and there is a large hole near the top of one wall. From every direction, the past Avatars stare down at her. The centerpiece of the room is a large statue of a woman, the front half of her head shaved. Female airbenders had the worst hair, she thinks, not for the first time. She and Mai and Ty Le used to get a kick out of it in school.

_"They had awful hair," Azula would tell them to a chorus of giggles from Ty Lee and amused silence from Mai. "They deserved what they got for that alone."_

If either of them had a problem with the joke, they never said anything.

It is Avatar Yangchen, she realizes, presumed until so recently to have been the last known airbending Avatar. She gazes up at the stone woman, frozen forever in a careful meditation. Azula imagines the quiet dignity she must have possessed, much like the future Fire Lady, and not at all like Azula, who used to enter rooms hands lit and ready to kill, or Ty Lee, who manages to maintain her own dignity only by not caring if she does or not.

Without thinking about why she is doing it, Azula climbs into the statue's lap and settles herself between her cold, stone feet.

It almost feels like a throne.

* * *

Azula is used to sleeping alongside Ty Lee by the time they have been at the temple for a week. She no longer feels a rush of panic when the other girl climbs under the covers beside her, when she snuggles into her arm.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Ty Lee murmurs as she pulls the blankets over her and molds herself to Azula's side.

The Princess scoffs. "I'm sure they're nothing special. Honestly, Ty Lee, we had stars in the Fire Nation and in Ba Sing Se. I don't know what it is about being here that made you finally notice them."

"They're almost as beautiful as you are," Ty Lee adds.

Azula laughs. "Well, that's a line if I've ever heard one."

"We're already a couple," Ty Lee replies, and Azula's breath hitches, because that is the first time either of them have ever used _that word_ , and Ty Lee says it like it is nothing. "I didn't know I still needed lines." There is a pause, and Azula can hear that Ty Lee is holding her breath. When she speaks again, her voice is much softer, much more unsure. "We are a couple, aren't we, Azula?"

She has never thought of herself as ever being part of a _couple_ before. She never thought she would be. She once expected to be one half of a diplomatic marriage, of course, but diplomatic marriage does not equate to couple. Couple sounds so codependent, so domestic. For some reason, it is easier to think of herself and Ty Lee as simply together.

"Are we, Azula?" Ty Lee repeats, her voice a whisper.

"I—" she breaks off, unsure of how to answer. Together and couple mean the same thing, don't they? Don't they? Being part of a _couple_ does not mean she is any weaker, right?

She breathes out through her teeth. "Call it whatever you want," she finally answers, and Ty Lee remains silent. It is a cop out and they both know it. She sighs and purses her lips. "Yes, I suppose we are."

"Good," Ty Lee answers, happy again. Completely oblivious of the mental gymnastics Azula has been performing for the past thirty seconds.

She feels Ty Lee's lips, soft against hers, as a pair of hands frame her face. This, she can get used to. Kissing Ty Lee, she can get used it. Her hand moves to the back of her friend's neck, to toy at the base of her hairline. Ty Lee shifts her weight, and Azula can feel the light pressure of the acrobat's abdomen against her hip bone.

Hands trail down over Azula's collar bones as Ty Lee pulls back. Azula watches them skim along the lapels of the too-large, cotton robe she'd taken from the trunk in the bedroom they'd shared at Tokka and Roe's house. Fingers work at the knot. Cool air hits her body all at once as the robe falls open. Ty Lee shifts so that her knees are planted firmly on the mattress on either side of Azula's hips, and Azula suddenly feels very trapped and extremely vulnerable

She saw this coming. It was obvious Ty Lee would want it eventually. If there is one consistency in her friend's many romances, it is that she is quick to sex, and then she has a lot of it. Azula just did not think it would come quite so soon. She thought she would have longer than a week and a half after Ty Lee affirmed her feelings to prepare.

The acrobat's lips latch onto the side of her neck as her arms are pulled from the sleeves. Ty Lee's cheeks and chin are smooth, but she feels bristles scratching at her skin. There are gentle hands curling around her breasts, and they feel much heavier, much harder, and much less forgiving than Azula knows they should. Ty Lee's hands are small and delicate, but they feel huge and she feels trapped, like she is eleven years old and still small enough to get lost in the Fire Lord's sheets, like she is back in Ba Sing Se in a tavern in the part of town that is literally falling apart, like nothing has changed. She squeezes her eyes shut and grits her teeth. Ty Lee's knees tighten around her hips as her lips travel down to her collar bone. Her hands clench into white-knuckled fists as she waits for the pain that she knows is coming.

Ty Lee's lips retract with a small pop. "Azula?" When she opens her eyes, Ty Lee is looking down at her, confusion written all over her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snaps.

"You don't look like you're having fun," Ty Lee insists.

"I said I'm fine," she repeats. "Just get it over with."

"Get it over with?" Ty Lee asks, her eyes widening. "Don't you want to do this?"

"Just do it!" Her voice is becoming raised, and she shakes her head in frustration.

"Azula," Ty Lee is climbing off of her, and then she feels hands on her bare shoulder. "You don't look like you want to."

"It doesn't matter!"

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it matters." Ty Lee pulls her up and reaches around her to drape the robe back over her shoulders. "Were you really going to let me do that?"

"Do what?" Azula spits. "I was letting you do what you wanted. That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it?"

"Azula, no!" Ty Lee exclaims. "Not even close!" She lowers her voice, like she is telling a secret, even though the only other person within miles is probably outside meditating on his pillar, like always. "I could have… I could have _raped_ you." Her large eyes are filling with tears, which Azula does not think she is equipped to handle just now. The acrobat shudders and looks completely disgusted. "I never would have forgiven myself." She wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of the large tunic she has been wearing to bed and sniffles, and Azula averts her gaze so she can pretend not to notice that the other girl is crying. "Azula, when you have sex, both people are supposed to enjoy it."

"Well," Azula replies, her voice as hard as the armor she used to wear. "You must be the only one who thinks that."

Ty Lee draws her eyebrows together. Her lips part. It takes her a moment to say anything. "Azula, what do you mean, I'm the only one who thinks that?"

"Clearly I mean that no one else does." She rolls her eyes. "Really, Ty Lee, try to keep up."

The acrobat draws her hand away from the other girl's shoulder. "And you're saying you know that from… personal experience?"

"Obviously." There is really no talking to this girl sometimes.

"Azula, how many people have done that to you?" She looks on the verge of tears again, and Azula sighs in exasperation.

"I slept with that man in Ba Sing Se," she answers with a dismissive wave of her hand, though she suddenly does not like where this conversation is headed. "You know that."

Ty Lee looks extremely skeptical, and she knows what is coming next. "You made that entire assumption based on one person? Azula, that's not like you. You're always really careful to think things out all the way."

She cannot look at Ty Lee anymore. Though she will not admit it to herself, she knows that she has lost. She has given up too much information already. Ty Lee dragged it out of her without Azula even realizing what she was doing. Perhaps they have been spending too much time together. Azula's manipulation skills have rubbed off on her.

Perhaps Azula is simply as clueless as she felt that night on Ember Island.

"There was one other," she finally admits.

"Who?" Ty Lee asks desperately, her hand back on Azula's arm. "Azula, please tell me who."

Azula presses her lips together. Telling her will spell the end of the relationship. She is sure of it. She will not be able to look Ty Lee in the eye anymore. And Ty Lee will probably not want to look at her anymore either.

"Azula, tell me who hurt you!" The acrobat does not often issue demands. It does not suit her. Not like Azula. Demands sound like poetry coming out of Azula's mouth, authoritative and commanding with just a hint of honey. It was the honey that made people want her approval. From Ty Lee, it merely sounds like a glorified request.

But it works.

"It was my father," she croaks before she has time to change her mind.

Ty Lee is silent.

For a week, Azula was almost happy.

Slowly, she lowers her forehead so that it rests on her knees, arms wrapped around her torso. And then the tears come. They come like locusts, and there is no stopping them. Azula does not often cry—not unless she is having an episode—and it is completely humiliating. Ty Lee is still sitting beside her, and Azula does not know what she is doing or what her face looks like, because, as she predicted, she cannot bear to look at the girl. All she knows is that the mattress still dips with her weight, so her companion is still there.

Finally, she feels a pair of arms slip around her stomach. She gasps and jerks away as it takes her by surprise. She was so certain Ty Lee would just leave her alone.

"I'm sorry," her companion squeaks, her arms stilling. "Is this okay?"

"I'm not fragile," Azula snaps in response, but the effect is somewhat undermined by the brokenness of her voice.

"I just didn't know… your robe is still untied…" Ty Lee does not finish trying to explain. All the better. She is fighting a losing battle. She simply finishes wrapping the Princess in her arms and pulls her into her chest.

"I never want to hurt you, Azula," she hears as a kiss is pressed to the top of her head.

"Good for you," Azula mutters through her tears.

But Princess Azula is not stupid. Everyone always hurts everyone in the end.

* * *

Azula's head is still tucked into her chest when Ty Lee wakes up the next morning. Her tunic is still fisted in the Princess' hands. She carefully extricates herself from the blankets and the limbs of her companion. Even in sleep, Azula looks exhausted and worried. There is a deep crease in her brow, but at least she looks better than she did last night, with her face all red and blotchy and barely able to breathe between sobs. She'd tried to keep her head ducked so the other girl would not see. She had been unsuccessful. Ty Lee brushes the hair away from her eyes and runs a thumb along her cheekbone. She would like to stay and wait for the Princess to wake up, but she has something to do, and it is not something she can get done with Azula trailing after her.

Last night had been… not what she expected. She was stupid and reckless, she realizes, to think that Azula would be ready. Not everyone is used to sex on the first date, and she knows that this is the Princess' first romantic relationship. She must not have been thinking at all.

"Guru Pathik," she calls as she climbs to the top of the pillar where the old man meditates.

He opens one eye, and his face breaks into a smile. "Ahh," he says warmly. "I thought you might come to see me."

"I'm worried about Azula," Ty Lee explains, taking a seat across from him. "I… found out some stuff last night. Stuff I didn't want to know."

"Yes." Guru Pathik nods, his smile disappearing instantly. "Your friend has been through so much. Her life has not been as easy as she would like others to believe."

"But what can I do?" Ty Lee leans forward, propping her cheeks up on her fists. "I want to help her."

The guru shakes his head solemnly. "What she needs from you is support and understanding as she comes to terms with the direction her life has taken, but I am afraid confronting her demons, that is something she must do alone and on her own terms."

"But you've helped cleanse lot of people of their pain and suffering," Ty Lee insists. "You can help her too."

He nods. "I can help your friend find herself again, but she must be ready, and she must come to me on her own. Not a moment before." He fixes Ty Lee with a searching look. "You must give her time. Such deep wounds do not heal overnight. It can take years of hard work and patience."

Ty Lee sighs and deflates. "Patience isn't something Azula's ever had."

"She will learn," Guru Pathik assures her. "But now, I am afraid you are needed elsewhere. It has been pleasant speaking with you. I am sure we will talk again soon."

He closes his eyes and resumes his meditation stance, and Ty Lee knows that the conversation is over. She returns to the tower where she and Azula sleep, but Azula is not in the entrance hall, not in their bedroom, and not in the room that is empty except for the still-overturned Pai Sho board. She turns down hallways, down a flight of stairs, and then down another hallway.

She finally finds the Princess in a room with a high ceiling that has almost completely crumbled. As soon as she crosses the threshold, she feels thousands of stone eyes on her. Thousands of past Avatars. Ty Lee does not recognize any of them, but there is no other group of people who would have an entire hall in an air temple to themselves. Azula is seated in the lap of a giant statue of a woman Ty Lee thinks must be Avatar Yangchen, seated there like it is a throne. Her eyes are closed and Ty Lee can see her body move with breaths that are coming in rushes.

"Azula?"

"I thought you might have gone," Azula comments without opening her eyes. Her voice in entirely void of emotion. It is unnerving.

Ty Lee approaches the statue. "Why would I do that?" Azula shrugs. "Not because of last night," Ty Lee guesses. Azula does not answer, but the acrobat can tell by the crease that deepens in her forehead that she is right. "Azula, I would never do that. You have to know that."

She climbs up the statue to meet the Princess as her eyes finally open. "Is that why you came here? To pity me?"

"No," Ty Lee answers. "I came here because you're my… because we're together, and I think you're hurting, and I wanted to be with you."

"I'm fine," Azula snarls as Ty Lee situates herself beside her. "I don't need you."

"I didn't say you did," Ty Lee replies. "I said I _wanted_ to be here."

"Fine," Azula snaps. "As long as we're clear on just who here needs who."

"We are," Ty Lee assures her as she hesitantly wraps an arm around her waist. To her surprise, Azula seems to melt into the touch. Ty Lee can almost feel the relief radiating off of her. "I'm sorry I tried that," she adds. "I wasn't thinking. Well, I was, but only about what I wanted."

Azula merely grunts in response, and Ty Lee rolls her eyes. Trying to have a heartfelt conversation with this girl is next to impossible. "I just wanted to let you know," she continues. "That I won't do anything like that again until you're ready. Whenever that is."

"What if I'm never ready?" The overwhelming worry makes the Princess' voice sound small and childlike, and if there was anyone else present on the entire island, Ty Lee would not believe that it was actually uttered by the girl sitting beside her.

"Then…" She sighs. "We'll kiss and we'll cuddle and we'll hold each other, and… that will be enough." The sentiment is designed to convince herself as much as Azula, Ty Lee knows, but she is determined to make this work, and if it does not, it will certainly not be just because Azula cannot have sex with her.

She slumps against the other girl's side drops her head to her shoulder. "I still think you're really special. I just wanted to make sure you knew that."

"Of course I knew that," Azula murmurs, but she sounds like her mind is somewhere far away from her voice, and Ty Lee wishes desperately that she knew why.


	16. Fate Is Healing

For selfish reasons, Ty Lee is glad that she and the Princess share a bed now. Every night, she curls up against Azula's side, hooks her leg around the other girl's calf, and presses a goodnight kiss to her neck. There is no pretense, no meaningless words about how it is cold outside or that the bed is too narrow. They are simply together, two halves of a couple. Girlfriends perhaps?

Ty Lee would like to ask, but she thinks that Azula would object to the term. _It sounds so childish_ , she can almost hear her answer. So she contents herself with just thinking the word.

Azula rarely initiates cuddling in any form, but she never seems opposed to it either. She never complains when Ty Lee wraps her limbs around her body, and sometimes, if it has been a good day, she will even rest her cheek against the acrobat's forehead.

There is another reason too, though. Ty Lee rarely has nightmares about being pulled into the streets during the riot anymore, but Azula is still plagued by hers. She is often woken by a sudden jerk of the Princess' shoulder or the dramatic heaving of her chest. She lies beside her friend… girlfriend, unsure whether to wake her up or let the nightmare play itself out. Ty Lee does not know what she dreams of. Perhaps if Azula ever discussed it with her, the question would be easier to answer, but Ty Lee knows that is a pointless wish.

It is on one of these nights, Azula grimacing and twitching in her sleep and Ty Lee watching in concern and considering waking her with a gentle jostle to the shoulder, that the Princess bolts straight up, gasping for breath.

"Azula!" Ty Lee cries, sitting up as well. Azula is breathing as if she has just finished an angi kai with the Avatar, her eyes are the size of Pai Sho tiles, and she does not respond when Ty Lee speaks.

And then, with the speed and suddenness of a pouncing armadillo lion, Azula turns to her, her face contorted in rage, her eyes unfocused. Ty Lee sees no recognition in them, no comprehension at all. They are completely blank, completely black. And then Azula's hand is lit up and coming at Ty Lee's face.

She squeals and jabs a knuckle into Azula's side. It is a reflex, but she is relieved as Azula's arm falls limply to the blanket, the fire extinguished.

The Princess' eyes widen as her arm hangs awkwardly from her shoulder. "Ty Lee?" Her voice is soft and unsure, and Ty Lee throws her arms around her, nearly knocking the girl into the wall.

"Azula!" she cries. "I had to do it! I'm so sorry! Your fist was coming at me and I had to think fast!" She promised herself that day at the Boiling Rock that she would never chi block a friend again unless she absolutely had to. She has never regretted saving Mai, but it had been much more difficult than she ever imagined to watch Azula's useless body drop to the ground, to hear her chin thunk against the concrete. Ty Lee has never asked her if it hurt. It had to have hurt.

She feels a hesitant hand against her back, and as she pulls away from the hug, she can see an expression of utter horror slowly forming on Azula's face. "Ty Lee, did I… burn you?" She sounds like she is terrified of the answer.

The acrobat smiles and shakes her head. "No, don't worry. I stopped you in time. I'm perfect. See?" She holds her arms out, and Azula surveys Ty Lee's body until she finally nods sharply. "Do you want to…" Ty Lee hesitates. "Talk about it?" She asks every time Azula wakes up from a nightmare, and the answer is always the same. Denial.

"What's the point?" the Princess sighs, dropping back onto the mattress and rolling over so that her back faces her companion. "I could have hurt you. That's all that matters."

"But you didn't," Ty Lee argues, wrapping her arms around Azula body and molding herself against her back. "I'm completely fine. Besides, you didn't know what you were doing. It was just a dream.

"The dream wasn't real," Azula replies. "The damage I could have done to you was. My fire burns hot, Ty Lee. There's a reason it's blue."

Tonight's fire was not blue, but Ty Lee does not think this is quite the time to point that out. "You would never hurt me on purpose," she assures the Princess, rubbing her hand gently up and down her arm. "That's all that matters. And I chose to learn to fight, I chose to become an acrobat, and I chose to accompany a fugitive into hiding. I don't mind taking risks. That's what makes life interesting."

"I was going to burn you," Azula insists, as Ty Lee frowns. "Maybe you shouldn't be sleeping here. This was a bad idea. Go find your own room."

"But, Azula—"

Azula cuts her off. "Go, Ty Lee."

"No," Ty Lee answers. "You're not dangerous. I want to stay."

" _I_ don't want you to," Azula replies.

"Then look me in the eye and tell me that," Ty Lee demands, and she sounds firmer this time. "I'm not leaving unless you look me in the eye and tell me you want me to."

For a moment, Ty Lee thinks that Azula will let the matter drop. And then she feels movement. Slowly, Azula turns herself over on the mattress, still wrapped in Ty Lee's arms, until their noses are not an inch apart and they are staring into each other's eyes. "I want you to leave."

Her voice is colder than Ty Lee has heard it since Azula ordered the guards at the Boiling Rock to lock up her and Mai, and Ty Lee's stomach drops horribly.

She sighs and tries not to cry as she retracts her arms and climbs out of the bed. Immediately, Azula's back is facing her again, and Ty Lee can see her body curl tightly into a ball under the blankets.

"I'll just be in the room down the next hallway if you need me," she calls over her shoulder, but Azula does not reply. Her head hangs as she walks toward the door. She feels like a failure, and she cannot even explain why. She only knows that she has failed Azula somehow, and surely, if she wracks her brain hard enough, she will come up with something, _anything_ , she could have done differently.

She stops in the doorway and turns back to face the Princess. "Azula," she says. "You firebent."

Her words hang in the air.

"I know," Azula whispers after a moment, and Ty Lee swears there are quiet tears in her voice.

* * *

Ty Lee does not sleep well that night. The room feels too hollow, too quiet, and much too big for one person. Without the sound of Azula's breath, she can hear all the little creaks and groans from within the temple and all the rustling of life outside it. She does not want to think about what Azula can probably hear. Ever since Ty Lee first saw in in the asylum, the Princess has not done well in silence. She tosses and turns and finds she cannot make herself comfortable without a body to relax against. When the sun comes up, she rises and makes her way down the mountain to gather fruit for breakfast.

When she returns, Azula is awake, sitting on the floor in the large hall, her back propped against one of the pillars.

"Good morning," Ty Lee greets with a smile. "I brought breakfast."

Azula looks no better rested than Ty Lee feels. The bags that have been under her eyes since she entered the asylum seem more pronounced and her face is red and blotchy. She stands up and follows Ty Lee silently to the room where the Pai Sho table still lies on the floor, its pieces scattered, where they have taken to eating. Ty Lee drops the food onto the table top and leans over to press a kiss to Azula's lips that she does not return.

"How did you sleep?"

"Don't mock me," Azula snaps as she takes her usual seat at the table.

"I wasn't," Ty Lee holds up her hands. "I just wanted to know if you slept okay the rest of the night."

"Do I look like I slept well?"

"Well…" Ty Lee sighs. "No. Not really."

Azula raises her eyebrows. "Then why would you even ask?"

Ty Lee shrugs. "I didn't sleep well either. I guess I just… can't sleep alone anymore."

There is a long pause before Azula answers. "I can sleep alone just fine." Ty Lee can feel her shoulders slacken. "But I slept much better before you left than I did after."

"So, then, can we go back to sleeping in the same bed?" she asks, looking up at her… her girlfriend. "Please, Azula?"

The Princess presses her lips tightly together as she selects a piece of fruit. She takes a bite and chews it slowly before answering in a pained voice. "I want you to be safe, Ty Lee. I almost burned you last night."

"I'm perfectly safe," Ty Lee insists. "You won't try to hurt me again, and if you do, I'll block your chi. I left home when I was thirteen, Azula, and you chose me to help you hunt for the Avatar. I know you like to think of yourself as my protector or something, but I can take care of myself."

Azula studies her for a moment before returning to her fruit. "No. Not until I… learn how to control it or something."

"Learn how to control what?" Ty Lee presses. "Your firebending?"

"My firebending, my nightmares, everything," the Princess answers, scowling at her breakfast.

Ty Lee slides a wedge of fruit between her lips and frowns. "What do you mean, learn how to control your firebending? You know how to control it. You're the most powerful firebender in the world."

Azula sighs. "Look." Her holds her fist out in front of her and opens it rapidly, like she is conjuring a flame. She does it again. And again. And no flame comes. "I can't make it happen again."

The acrobat taps her finger on her chin in thought. "You know who could probably help you with that," she answers slowly.

"I am _not_ asking your guru friend for help," Azula replies. "I am a master firebender. I'm sure I can figure it out. All I need is practice. I'll be bending lightning again in a few hours. Just watch."

And Ty Lee does watch. She watches from the window of the room with the overturned Pai Sho table as Azula takes up residence on the pillar Guru Pathik usually uses for meditation, and runs through forms that Ty Lee has seen many times, though most of them she has not seen without fire. Azula is out of shape and her kicks are not as high, her flips not as smooth, and her punches not as swift, but she looks steady on her feet and confident in her actions, and Ty Lee sees no reason she should not be able to summon fire.

When Azula finally returns to the temple she is panting heavily and covered in sweat. Ty Lee runs to bring her a wet rag, and Azula sits on the ground looking dejected as the other girl runs it over her face and presses it to the back of her neck.

"I'm sure you'll get it tomorrow," Ty Lee assures her, because she cannot bare to see Azula like this. Firebending is the one thing she has always felt confident about, her one lifeline to her father's good graces, and she has been without it for so long. Now it is frustratingly close, burning within her body, and she cannot access it.

"I'm sure," Azula agrees, though the thought does not seem to cheer her up very much.

Ty Lee follows Azula to their bedroom that night in hopes that she will forget what she said that morning and allow Ty Lee to sleep against her, but Azula forgets nothing. She stops and turns toward Ty Lee in the doorway. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ty Lee repeats sadly, planting a kiss on the Princess' lips. "Sweet dreams."

Azula laughs mirthlessly before backing into the room and shutting the door in Ty Lee's face.

* * *

"Tell me what happened to my bending."

The guru opens one eye and smiles benignly up at the girl standing over him.

"I know you know," Azula demands.

"Please," he gestures to the space in front of him. "Sit. Join me in meditation."

"I don't want to _meditate_ ," Azula sneers. "I want to bend fire."

"The answer will come," the guru answer, entirely unfazed. "After you meditate."

Azula sighs in exasperation and drops to the ground across from the old man. She crosses her legs the way his are crossed and lays her hands on her knees palms up.

"Close your eyes," the guru instructs. "Clear your mind of all the troublesome thoughts that are plaguing you."

"That's difficult to do when you're keeping the solution to one of my troublesome thoughts from me," the Princess hisses between clenched teeth.

"If you cannot clear these thoughts from your head, you will never find inner balance," the guru continues.

"I don't want inner balance," Azula insists. "I came here for one reason. To get my firebending back."

"You will need inner balance if you ever hope to regain your bending," the old man explains. "Your mind is in turbulence. Your imbalance is why your brother was able to defeat you so easily."

"My brother never defeated me," Azula argues. "His waterbender did it for him."

"Can you tell me that you honestly believed you would have won had you not changed the rules?" the guru asks. "That is why you changed them, is it not?" Azula scowls. "Your brother lost his drive to bend when he left your father's side," the guru continues. "But he gained inner balance. He was no longer in conflict with himself."

"But my brother didn't lose his bending," Azula says. "It was only weakened. Why is my bending gone when his wasn't?" She finally voices the question that has been plaguing her for years, because she is stronger than Zuko. She has always been so much stronger than Zuko, but now, at her weakest point, Azula is weaker than her brother has ever been.

"Your brother's drive was scattered," the guru answers. "His desires were pulling him in the opposite direction of what he knew was right. When he let go of expectations that were disturbing his inner balance, he found himself." Azula smirks, because it is just like Zuko to allow himself to be swayed by the right thing.

_"Tunnel vision, brother," she told him after she brought him back from Ba Sing Se, when he asked her how she lived with the people she had betrayed, the deaths she had caused. He was still upset about their worthless uncle, she realized. He had a habit of choosing weakest people to look up to. "You think about your goal and you think about how to achieve it. Everything else is background noise. It doesn't matter."_

Easier to do when you have never been betrayed yourself, Azula now realizes.

Zuko had not seemed convinced.

"You say he fell, but I say he did not fall far," the guru continues, pulling Azula from the memory. "Your drive was focused and precise. That is why your fire burns so hot. For years you allowed your drive to consume you. Now that it is gone, you are completely lost. You cannot bend because you are adrift. After all, those who achieve great heights have the farthest to fall."

Azula does not ask the man how he knows so much about Zuko, how he knows so much about her. "But I can feel the fire inside of me," she protests. "I can feel it flowing through my veins. It's there. I know it is."

"You are right," the old man answers. "It is there because you have begun to find your way again, but you are still out of balance. Until you have made peace with yourself, you cannot return to your former strength."

"Fine then," Azula sigh, feeling extremely irritated and wondering if the old man actually has any idea what he is talking about. "How do I achieve this… this inner balance?"

"It takes time," the guru replies. "Time and patience. You cannot find the solutions to all of your problems overnight. For now, we meditate."

And so Azula meditates. She sits with her back as straight as a double dragon battle formation and tries not to think. She tries not to, except her mind keeps going back to being locked in the asylum, feeling crazy and speaking with her father every other night, to lying in bed under Ty Lee and realizing it was not normal to not want the object of her affections to touch her, to shaking off a nightmare only to realize she had nearly burned her companion. She is supposed to let them go for this meditation thing to work. She knows that, but she does not know how the guru can make it sound so easy. Clearly, his life has not been what hers has. She wonders if he knows the meaning of pain.

"You will come back tomorrow," he tells her when the sun is beginning to set. "We will work as long as we need to."

She grunts in response and goes back to the temple, where Ty Lee is waiting in the doorway. "So?" she asks anxiously, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "How did it go?"

"Well, I still can't bend fire," Azula replies, her voice tinged with anger and annoyance, as she quickly unclenches her fist, as she has taken to doing over the past few days, just to check.

"Don't worry. These things take time," Ty Lee assures her, stretching her arm around the Princess' waist. "You'll get it. You can do anything."

"Do you really believe that Ty Lee?" Azula sighs, and the other girl's brow creases in concern.

"Of course I do," Ty Lee answers quickly. "Don't you?"

"No one can do anything," Azula replies.

Ty Lee's arm tightens around her waist.

* * *

He comes to her that night as she is engulfed in flames.

She is back in the tiny apartment in Ba Sing Se, and Ty Lee is with her, snuggled up against her the way she used to sleep until the night Azula's bending returned. The night is warmer than anything they experienced in the Earth Kingdom's capital city and significantly more tranquil. Suddenly, Ty Lee gasps and sits up, pointing wordlessly out the glassless window. Azula sits up to look.

Outside the world burns.

She knows what this means, and she grabs Ty Lee by her upper arm and drags her to the door, desperate to get out. They have to leave the city. They have to go somewhere they can be safe and alone and together. The crown and the palace and her lightning are the farthest things from Azula's mind right now. Surely, if she can Ty Lee can simply live, she will be content.

He is already there when Azula throws open the door. He steps into the room, ripping Ty Lee from Azula's arm and tossing her to the side, where she hits the wall with a sickening thud and crumples to the ground.

"No daughter of mine would allow herself to become a non-bender," he growls as he captures Azula by the scruff of her neck. "No daughter of mine would stoop so low as to become preoccupied with romance, especially with this disgrace of a noble." He throws her down onto her stomach on the bedroll. "What can she possibly do for you, Azula?" Her arms are twisted painfully behind her back. "Only bring you to shame." She can feel his weight hovering over her. His hand slithers up her shirt to tear at her chest bindings. She hears a weak moan coming from behind her, over by the doorway.

_No_ , she tells herself. _Not today. Not here. Not in front of Ty Lee._

Just as the knot at the back of her bindings is becoming loose, she screams. She tosses her body back and forth as she tries, though her shoulders feel like her arms are being ripped right out of them, to free herself. She kicks and her foot collides with something hard.

He roars in pain and fury, and at once, his hands are gone from her body. She rolls over in time to see a whirlwind of fire coming at her. She howls as her entire body goes up in flames. She shrieks and she burns, but she does not die. Instead, she is powerless to watch as her father turns to Ty Lee.

"So," he hisses at her. "You make a habit of tempting royals."

He is pulling her up by her braid, crushing her against the wall. She looks tiny against him, and Azula can hear her whimper.

She wakes with a strangled cry. She is sitting up in bed, her body covered in a thick sheen of cold sweat, her breath coming in gasps. She looks to the mattress beside her, and her heart plummets when she realizes Ty Lee is not there. She needs to see her. She needs to see her body whole and healthy and untouched by her father.

She stumbles from her room and down the hallway, down another hallway. The walls whisper at her, the same admonishments, the same threats, until she comes to Ty Lee's door. It is open, in hope, Azula thinks, and she can hear her… friend? Her friend. Breathing softly, slowly, her sleep undisturbed. Ty Lee looks tiny in the nearly empty room, and Azula wonders briefly if she looked as small against Ozai's body as Ty Lee had. The very thought makes her feel miniscule.

Though she feels an overwhelming, humiliating urge to feel the small pair of arms wrapping around her body, Azula does not wake Ty Lee. Fear is a weakness. Azula does not _need_ to be comforted by someone else. She does not need anyone else at all.

She does not return to her bedroom. She navigates through the dark temple to the large hall and through the doorway, up to the top of the pillar where she likes to practice her forms in the vain hope that her fire will spontaneously return to her.

"Don't you ever sleep?"

Annoyance ripples through her as she makes her way toward the form of the guru, eyes closed, body still in concentrated meditation.

Without opening his eyes, he replies, "I could say the same to you." He folds his hands together and looks up at her. "You lay in the temple every night but you never sleep."

She narrows her eyes in suspicion. "How do you know whether or not I sleep?"

"I can feel your fear," he explains gently. "Even from out here. It clouds your energy. There is love in your body, like a tiny light in a dark cavern, but too much fear can block out even the sun. You have been sleeping worse lately."

"It's nothing," Azula answers sharply. "Nightmares. I can handle them."

"Tell me," he replies. "Why did you send your friend away?"

Azula does not ask him how he knows this time. "I almost burned her," she admits. "When my fire came back. I'm dangerous until I learn how to control it. I could hurt her."

"You will not be able to control it until you—"

"I know, I know," she snaps. "Achieve _inner balance_."

"No," the guru tells her. "Until you learn to control your fear and channel it through another drive instead."

Azula rolls her eyes. Trying to decipher anything this man says is more grating than talking to her uncle, if that is even possible. "I don't suppose you'd tell me what other drive I'm supposed to channel it through."

"The one that is growing in your body by the day." The old man places his hand on his chest, just above his heart. "Trust. Love."

The Princess throws her head back and laughs. It sounds harsh and mean, and not at all like the good-natured laughter that comes sometimes when she is with Ty Lee. " _Trust?_ " she repeats between gasps. " _Love?_ That sounds like something my brother would say. Do you have any idea who you're talking to? I'm not naïve. I conquered a nation through fear alone. I don't need trust. I don't think I'm even capable of love."

The guru sighs sadly, but he does not seem entirely unsurprised. "Then we will start with simply controlling the fear," he tells her, patting the ground in front of him, imploring her to sit down. "The rest will come, if you let it."

* * *

The guru sends her away just after sunrise. She can feel fire, once again, alight in her body as she reenters the air temple and makes her way up to the floor where she and Ty Lee sleep.

Ty Lee is still asleep when Azula reaches the room she has been using. Neither of them will call it Ty Lee's room, because it is only temporary. They both know it is only temporary. Azula sorely hopes it is only temporary.

The bed is situated directly across from the window, awash in sunlight. This is the first time she has ever seen it in the light of morning, and she fleetingly wishes she had chosen this room that first night.

She lowers herself onto the bed as gently as possible, so as not to wake its occupant, and gathers Ty Lee in her arms, holding the acrobat to her chest, cradling her head against her shoulder and reveling in the feel of her body, so real and alive against her. She is haunted by the girl's whimpers in her dream, in stark contrast to the peacefully soft breaths now coming from her companion, the way small, strong hands lazily tangle in the front of the cotton robe Azula has not changed out of. She had relived that dream over and over again during her mediation, the guru occasionally asking her to voice what she was thinking about.

_"I can see fear has you in his clutches," he had told her every so often as she worked to conceal her grimace. "Give voice to your fears and make them real. You cannot conquer something that does not exist." He had listened wordlessly each time. "Now imagine your words crumbling to a pile of ash right in front of you. Your fears are inside you. Only you have the power to defeat them, but you must be prepared to brave a storm. It is not an easy journey."_

Azula has never shied away from anything, and she will not shy away from this. She had decided in that moment that she would brave as many storms as she needed to, defeat as many nightmares as were thrown at her if it would bring back her firebending, if it would bring Ty Lee back to her bed. She has missed holding her like this.

Never did he offer any instruction as to how, of course, and Azula is not sure if following his advice is working anyway. She is extremely skeptical, but she does not know how she would know. She does not feel any different. Is she supposed to feel different?

"Azula?" Ty Lee mumbles sleepily against her. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh, not long. I wouldn't lay here and wait for you to wake up all morning. I have other things to do," Azula replies, but she unable to keep the smile off of her face as Ty Lee's eyes meet hers. As much as she will deny it if asked, she has missed waking up beside someone.

Ty Lee frowns. "You look tired."

"I didn't sleep much," Azula admits, stifling a yawn at the very thought. "I was with your friend," she wrinkles her nose, " _meditating_."

"You don't have to do that all the time you know," Ty Lee points out. "More isn't always better. Suki used to tell us quality over quantity. You don't take on more guys than you can knock out all at once."

Azula chuckles and presses her lips to the top of the other girl's head.

"Are you sure you're okay, Azula?" She sounds concerned, and Azula supposes that she does not show outright affection very often. She gazes back up at the Princess, the sun reflecting off her hair, lighting her cheeks.

"You're beautiful, Ty Lee," she comments, ignoring the question completely, because she does not want to admit that she does not know the answer, and she certainly does not want to end up in a situation where she is asked to describe her dream to its subject.

Ty Lee beams and drops a kiss on her lips. "You are too. Really beautiful." Ty Lee's lips capture hers again, and she gives in to it, allowing Ty Lee to push her slowly onto her back and hover over her. The acrobat's hands trail across her shoulders, down her arms, down her sides, even down the exposed skin at the center of her chest, but she makes no move to open the robe again, and Azula loves her for it.

Well, she does not _love_ her.

Ty Lee breaks away and snuggles into her shoulder, her nose tickling the base of Azula's jaw, her body is still half on top of the Princess'. "Maybe…" she whisper slowly. "Maybe we could just lay here for a while. That might be nice. What do you think, Azula?" She spreads her hand on Azula's opposite cheek and guides her head to the side so that they are looking at each other, their faces only inches apart.

"I think I've already done my meditation for the day," Azula answers, lifting her arm and draping it lazily over the other girl's waist. "I'll rest as long as I like."

Ty Lee grins at her, and, because Azula suddenly finds herself in a remarkably good mood, it is infectious. "I'm so glad you're my girlfriend," the acrobat comments.

Azula's entire body tenses, and Ty Lee immediately knows she has said something wrong. Her mouth falls open, and Azula watches as her lips move silently, struggling for words to correct her mistake.

It is completely adorable.

And Azula finds that, amazingly, she is not angry. She thinks she should be angry, she expected to be angry, but she is not. So, in the same way she folded and allowed Ty Lee to call them a couple, she replies, "I guess I am your girlfriend, aren't I?"

"That's kind of what I thought was happening," Ty Lee admits with a sheepish shrug. "I mean, we said we were a couple. But it's okay if you don't want to be. Friends is nice too. Friends who… are a couple. We can just be friends who are a couple."

Azula shakes her head. She stares up at the ceiling, remarkably intact, for a moment before turning back to the girl in her arms. "I think I want to."

Ty Lee is beaming at her again within a second. She leans up to kiss the tip of Azula's nose, and then settles back into the pillow just above her shoulder with a giggle. "Don't worry," she answers. "I can be your girlfriend too."

And so on a morning in mid-spring in a small bedroom streaming with sunlight at the Eastern Air Temple, they become girlfriends.


	17. Fate Is Frustrating

"Tell me about trust," the guru tells Azula as they sit atop the pillar and meditate. His commands sound like requests, but not in the same way Ty Lee's do. Ty Lee's sound like requests because she lacks the force to back them up. Guru Pathik's do because his voice is so gentle and calming. Azula suspects it is partially by design, because he knows she will not respond well if she feels like she is being ordered around.

"Trust is unnecessary," Azula replies, as confident in her answer as if she was ten years old and answering a question from her tutor about Fire Nation history before Zuko has even had a chance to think it over. "Anything you can gain through trust, you can also gain through fear."

"Except for loyalty," the guru points out. "You have some experience with that. Why don't you tell me about it?" Azula recognizes that it is not a request.

Her mind flashes to the Boiling Rock, the moment, standing on the top of that railcar when she realized Mai had betrayed her, the moment, collapsing to the ground, unable to control her body, that she realized Ty Lee had as well. "My friends turned on me," she answers shortly, because there is really no more to it than that. They turned on her to save the brother who was never as strong, never as clever, the brother who betrayed her first and was painted as a hero.

"You trusted them," the old man comments.

"And what did it get me?" she hisses. "A bad scrape on my chin, a severe punishment from my father, and no one left who cared about me. If that's what trust does, I want nothing to do with it."

"But you do not fault your friends for betraying you," the guru continues. "Tell me, why do you think that is?"

Azula sighs. "Mai told me once that Zuko needed to live. She said she could see even then that I wouldn't make it a year as Fire Lord without falling apart completely. And she said I would have let the world burn to prove my strength. I would have been the Fire Lord of nothing but ash." She hangs her head. "I don't know if she was wrong. And Ty Lee…." She bites her lip. "Ty Lee had to save Mai. That seems reasonable. I don't know if I understand it…" She looks back up at the towers of the air temple, where Ty Lee is probably preparing vegetables for lunch, and thinks of hearing her being pulled into the street in Ba Sing Se, thinks about the things she did so that her companion would not starve. "But it seems reasonable."

"You understand why your friends did what they did, and yet you still distain trust," the guru points out.

"Because it's unnecessary," Azula answers quickly. "You don't need loyalty if you can garner enough fear." _And if you don't trust, you can't get hurt_.

"Ah," he replies. "But what is stronger than the bonds of fear?"

_I love Zuko more than I fear you._

Azula grimaces as she remembers Mai choosing Zuko, Ty Lee choosing Mai. "Love?" she guesses. Though Ty Lee has never loved Mai. Of that, she is positive.

"Exactly," the guru answers, a glint in his eye that Azula dislikes. "Love ties us together across time and space. It even transcends death. What could be stronger than a bending fueled by love?"

Azula shakes her head. "Impossible. I told you already, I can't love. I won't." Thank goodness she had not loved Mai and Ty Lee when they betrayed her. It would have hurt so much more. So much more than losing the only two people left who cared about her as more than just a weapon.

The old man shakes his head. "There is love in your body. A small amount. Tell me, who is it for?"

Azula frowns. Not her father. Not anymore. All those years he took an interest in her life, he made sure she had the finest instructors, the finest resources, the finest armies, all those years she thought it was because he loved her, only to learn that it was all because of what she could do for him. She could have died, and he would not have lost nothing more than his best fighter. She knows that now.

It cannot be her mother either, surely. They were on civil terms with each other before Azula left the Fire Nation, but she still feels far too much resentment toward the woman to classify her feelings for her as love.

Zuko? Mai? She is… fond… of them both. They caught her at her lowest point, when she was screaming and swearing and spitting blue fire from her nose and mouth. Zuko kept her out of prison, despite outrage in the Earth and Water Nations—a brave move for a new Fire Lord, his advisors told him—made sure she still had the best of everything, even when he knew she could not return the favor. Mai held her hand through nightmares, followed her to make sure she did not injure herself, during the week she stayed in the palace, while a special ward was being prepared for her at the asylum. Between Zuko and Mai, she had a visitor every day. She must be more than _fond_ of Zuko and Mai, but she cannot pick out the right word.

Ty Lee?

She does not love Ty Lee, she reminds herself again.

"The Fire Nation," she finally decides. "I was raised to bring glory and honor to the Fire Nation. That is what I love."

The guru shakes his head, and Azula realizes she has given the wrong answer. "You are lying to yourself. You will never channel your bending through love if you do not allow yourself to feel it. Truth brings strength."

"Love brings weakness," Azula argues.

"Think about the people in your life," the man instructs her. "The others who survived the war. Think about the way they allow themselves to feel. They are no worse off than you."

No, Azula realizes. If anything, they are better. She thinks of Ursa, banished from palace for loving her son too much, living in a hut in a small village with a family whom she loves, with a son whom she still loves, with an estranged daughter, whom she apparently loves despite everything. She thinks of Mai and Zuko and their love for each other, a love that has apparently lasted a banishment, a betrayal, and a stint in prison. Mai and Zuko, who love her despite the fact that she nearly killed them both. She thinks of Ty Lee. Ty Lee has overwhelming feelings toward everyone. Ty Lee has been ignored, manipulated, used, and still, she loves everyone until they make her feel otherwise. If there was ever anyone capable of loving her, it would be Ty Lee.

Azula is very loved, she realizes. For a killer, she is very loved.

What a bunch of fools. They must know she will never return the feeling.

Azula shakes her head. "Can we just go back to trust?" It is a subject she is marginally more comfortable with.

"Of course," the guru replies. "You say you are not capable of love. Do you believe you are capable of trust?"

"Yes," she answers automatically.

"Can you tell me who?"

"Ty Lee," she replies. "And I suppose my brother and his girlfriend too," she adds as a grudging afterthought.

"What have they done to make you trust them?" the old man asks, his wrinkled lips curving into a gentle, approving smile that makes her feel proud, despite the fact that she tells herself she has no desire to impress him.

She knits her brow together in thought. "They cared about me," she finally answers. "They cared about me after everything I did to them. They could have thrown me in prison. I don't understand why they didn't. There was nothing in it for them. I wasn't in a condition to return any favors."

"You trust them because they love you," the guru comments. "I will leave you with that thought for today."

* * *

"Ty Lee, do you love Mai?"

"Of course," Ty Lee answers without looking up from the piece of fruit she is nibbling on. The sun is setting on the air temple. An assortment of greens lays between them on the table where the old Pai Sho board used to sit.

"Excuse me?" Azula eyebrows shoot up. Ty Lee raises her eyes to look at her.

"Well, yeah," she replies, like it should be obvious to Azula. "She's one of my best friends. She always has been."

"Oh," Azula answers. "But you don't… _love_ her."

"You mean like Zuko loves her?" Ty Lee asks. Azula nods stiffly. "Nope. Why do you ask?"

"And you've never loved her?" the Princess' presses without answering.

"Well, I did have a crush on her back when we were little." Azula feels her mouth fall open, and Ty Lee rushes to clarify. "But that was when we were like, ten, and I got over it. So there's no need to fight her for my affections or anything next time you see her. It wasn't _love_."

"You had a crush on her?" Azula repeats. Ty Lee bites her lip.

"I mean, something _might_ have happened in the Boiling Rock, when we were both really bored and angry and she thought Zuko might be dead," the acrobat adds weakly. "But she cried afterwards, and then we both agreed to never talk about it again. I don't even think she likes girls. So please don't get jealous."

Azula snickers to mask the absolute horror she is feeling. "I can't imagine what you saw in her. She's so unenthusiastic. She doesn't suit you at all. I can't believe she _cried_."

"Well, she didn't want me to see, but she loves Zuko. I understood. And you know how crushes are." Ty Lee shrugs, quite unaware that Azula does not, in fact know how crushes are. She is currently with the only person she has ever had romantic feelings for. "She was my friend, and she was nice to me, and you know how pretty she's always been. There was just something really… elegant about her." She stuffs another piece of fruit in her mouth.

Azula folds her arms and catches Ty Lee stifling a giggle at her indignation. "I'm elegant too. I'm a princess."

Ty Lee reaches across the table to give her a reassuring pat on the elbow. "I had a crush on you too. Just later. And I like you now, obviously. I haven't liked Mai like that in years. A lot of years."

Azula sighs and allows herself to relax. She hesitates for a moment before asking, "Did you love me?"

Ty Lee narrows her eyes. "Did I love you… how?"

"Like you love Mai," she elaborates, trying to sound casual.

"Of course I did," the acrobat replies with an easy smile.

"And after I had you thrown in prison," Azula continues. "Did you still love me after that?"

"Well," Ty Lee answers slowly. "I was kind of angry, but I totally thought you were going to kill us, so I got over being in prison pretty quickly." She thinks for a moment and shrugs. "I did by the time I got out. Especially after I learned about… what happened." _That you lost your mind_. Azula can hear the words, even if they are unspoken.

"I wouldn't have killed you," Azula comments shortly.

"But you were going to kill Mai, though," Ty Lee points out.

Azula sighs. "I know." She regrets that now. After the way Mai was back at her side, just trying to keep her afloat, within a day of arriving back in the capital, she regrets it. As much as she hates to admit she was wrong. Fourteen-year-olds make mistakes. When they are second in command in an entire nation, their mistakes sometimes cost lives. Mai was nearly a casualty of Azula's pride.

She takes another piece of fruit and begins to peel the skin off. "I didn't expect any of you to come back for me." She glances up at Ty Lee to gauge her reaction before returning to the fruit. "Mai and Zuko were there right away, and you came… eventually."

"I left for Kyoshi Island the day I got out of prison," Ty Lee offers in explanation, dropping her eyes. "Right after the coronation. The other girls really wanted to see their families." Her cheeks are flushed, and Azula thinks that she probably expects her to start yelling.

"Well, I did throw you in prison," Azula shrugs pointedly. "As I said, I was surprised anyone came at all. I wasn't about to be upset with you for taking your time."

Ty Lee nods, her eyes still downcast.

Azula sighs and reaches across the table to take the other girl's hand. She is certainly not making this easy. "I'm… glad you came." She clears her throat as Ty Lee looks back up at her, her eyes wide. "I wish you had come sooner of course, but I'm glad you did."

"Of course I came," Ty Lee whispers. "I didn't I just tell you I loved you?"

Azula nods and retracts her hand. There is a warmth in her chest, a burning that, despite living sixteen years as a firebender, is foreign to her. She feels like there is something she should say. She even knows what it is, but she cannot make the words come out. She does not try, because she cannot yet admit it to herself.

_"There is love in your body. A small amount. Tell me, who is it for?"_

Azula knows who it is for.

* * *

"Ty Lee."

A hand is on her shoulder, shaking her roughly, urgently.

"Ty Lee."

She blinks and throws an arm up to block her face. It is still dark in the room, but there is something bright right by the side of her head.

"Ty Lee, look," Azula urges. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, and that is when the situation hits her. Azula. In the bedroom. In the middle of the night.

She bolts upright. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The bed sinks beside her as the other girl sits. "Just look."

Ty Lee does look, and her mouth drops open. In Azula's outstretched hand is a small, flicking, orange flame.

"You're firebending," she gasps. When she looks up at Azula's face, the Princess is beaming. "When?"

"It just happened tonight," Azula replies. She closes her hand to suffocate the flame, and when she reopens it, a new one blossoms. She frowns slightly. "I can't make it any bigger."

"It's a start," Ty Lee replies, throwing her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "I'm so happy for you. You've been working so hard." She pulls away and presses a kiss to the Princess' lips.

"I'm far from finished," Azula mutters, staring back at the inadequate flame in her palm.

"This is a good thing," Ty Lee reprimands, tilting her head to force Azula to look her in the eye. "Stop making it sound bad."

"It's… frustrating," Azula sighs. "I know my fire is in there. All of it. It just won't come out."

"It takes time," Ty Lee assures her. "It's only been three weeks. It'll come eventually."

"That's what your guru friend keeps saying." Azula rolls her eyes. " _Once you harness your fear and allow yourself to be guided by trust and love, you will regain your bending. Not a moment before._ "

Ty Lee giggles. "That sounded just like him." A pause. "Have I ever told you you're the funniest person I've ever met."

"You've mentioned it before," Azula replies regally, examining her fingernails. "I believe it was accompanied by prettiest, smartest, and most perfect."

Ty Lee's smile grows. "That's still true."

"I'm sure you only feel that way because I'm the only person under the age of one hundred and fifty you've seen in two months," she argues.

Ty Lee scoots closer to the other girl and wraps her arms around the crook of Azula's elbow. "Does this mean we can sleep in the same bed again?"

"I suppose it does," Azula answers hesitantly.

"Good!" Ty Lee squeals. Before Azula has time to know what is happening, she is being pushed onto her back and Ty Lee is on her, lips latching onto her neck, hands grasping her hips.

"What are you doing?" the Princess demands.

"Celebrating," Ty Lee mumbles into her skin. "Don't worry. I won't do anything unless you want me to."

She hears a gasp, and a moment later, there is a hand resting on the back of her hair, fingers toying with her braid. Azula is beginning to breath more heavily beneath her, and Ty Lee trails her hands slowly up her sides so that her thumbs brush lightly against the swell of her girlfriend's breasts over the fabric of the robe. She wishes it was thinner. She wishes there was no clothing between them at all. She wants to feel Azula's skin, warm and smooth against her own.

She pushes the thought from her head. What was done to Azula is not her fault, and Ty Lee's frustration will only make matters worse. She will not allow herself to pressure the Princess into making a decision she is not ready to make. Ty Lee just really, really wants to have sex. It has been nearly four months. And she is with Azula, who has been her friend for ten years and is absolutely one of the most beautiful people she has ever met.

She hears her girlfriend suppress something that sounds like a moan as her lips travel across a collar bone and down the center of the chest, to the space between her breasts, right where the hems of the robe meet. Her hands follow the motion of her head, skimming over Azula's rib cage, down the sides of her stomach, past her waist to rest on her thighs, fingers pressing more insistently into her skin through the robe, despite the acrobat's efforts to contain herself.

"Stop." Azula says sharply, and Ty Lee's head snaps up. "We…" Azula pauses to catch her breath. "We have to stop."

"Okay," Ty Lee agrees, disappointment sitting in her stomach like a rock as she makes her way back up Azula's body to press one last kiss to her lips. She burrows her head into the pillow right beside Azula's and curls her arm across her girlfriend's chest. "It's nice to have you back."

Azula rolls to the side so that they are facing each other and smoothes her hand across the side of Ty Lee's face. "I _have_ missed you," she admits.

"I know," Ty Lee answers with a shrug, and through the darkness, she thinks she sees the Princess blush.

* * *

She watches the Princess train from the window of the bedroom the next day. Azula runs through the forms that Ty Lee has grown used to seeing without fire. Now, a glint of flame barely large enough for Ty Lee to see from the distance flickers from her fists and feet. Sprinkles of flame barely brighter than sparks make it not more than a few feet before fizzling out. It is a little pitiful, Ty Lee has to admit, but it is something. It is more than Azula had yesterday.

"That looked great," she comments as the Princess makes her way back up to the temple, enthusiastically enough that she almost believes it herself.

Azula brushes past her without a glance. "I couldn't win an agni kai with a toddler," she replies, her voice as hard as the steel of her Empire Class Fire Nation battleships. "I couldn't have beaten myself when I was five in this state. I couldn't have beaten _Zuko_ when he was five in this state."

"It'll get better though," Ty Lee assures her, following after her girlfriend, nearly running to keep up. "It just take time—"

" _Time_ ," Azula sneers. "That's all you and your friend keep telling me. More time, more time. How much time?" She whirls around to face the other girl, and her eyes are watering with fury. "Will my fire be blue again before I turn eighty? Will I ever be able to bend lightning? You're acting like this is some huge accomplishment." She sighs, and at once, her rage is gone, replaced with thinly veiled despair. "All I have are sparks."

Ty Lee takes a step toward Azula and reaches for her hand. She pulls it out in front of the Princess and uncurls her tightly-clenched fingers so that her palm faces the sky. "Make a flame."

Azula tries to pull her hand away. "I've been making flames all day. It will only depress me more."

"Do it for me." Ty Lee smiles up at her encouragingly. "Please?"

Azula rolls her eyes, and a flame, only slightly larger than the one that used to burn in their oil lamp in the apartment back in Ba Sing Se, erupts. Ty Lee watches it dance. "It's beautiful," she murmurs.

"It shouldn't be _beautiful_ ," Azula snaps. "It should be breathtaking and terrifying and powerful. It should bring armies to their knees."

"Who says it's not breathtaking," Ty Lee asks, frowning at the small flame. "It's completely mesmerizing."

"Not to anyone with half a thought in their brain," Azula replies, finally succeeding in wrenching her hand away and snapping her fingers shut.

Ty Lee furrows her brow and looks up at the other girl. "You're tired," she comments. "And frustrated."

Azula's shoulders slacken. "I suppose that comment may have been unnecessary," she mutters without meeting Ty Lee's eyes.

"Aww? Was that you version of an apology?" The acrobat is smiling again, and she pops up onto her toes to lay a kiss on Azula's cheek. "I forgive you."

"Of course you do." Azula wraps an arm around her waist and guides her into the temple. "I'm the only other person here. You have no choice."

Ty Lee looks up at her as they walk. She seems less angry now, but she is still tense. "I know your firebending will come back," she says. Azula's eyes flit toward her, but she remains facing forward and shows no other sign of having heard her companion. Ty Lee reaches around to rub circles into the small of her back. "You can do anything you decide to do. I've never seen you fail before."

"I failed to defeat my brother during the comet," Azula points out.

"But I didn't _see_ that," Ty Lee reminds her.

* * *

Ty Lee does not notice the mark on Azula's chest until she has changed into her robe that night and is climbing into bed. They are in the room Ty Lee has been sleeping in for the past three weeks, because Azula has decided she likes the way the sun rises through the window. It makes her feel powerful. Besides, she could use a break from their old room. There are too many memories in there now of waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat with her father's voice in her ear.

The mark is directly between her breasts, just above where the robe meets, and looks like a reddish bruise. "Did I do that?" Ty Lee murmurs, kneeling beside her and reaching out to run her fingers over it.

"You must have," Azula answers, shrugging against the pillow. "I can't imagine where else it would have come from."

"Oh, Azula, I'm sorry," the acrobat whispers. "I guess I got a little carried away. I was just so excited to have you back. Is that why—"

"No," Azula interrupts. She takes a breath to calm herself. "It's just a hickey. I've had them before, in case you've forgotten."

Ty Lee's face darkens, and Azula imagines she is remembering the night in Ba Sing Se. That was not the first hickey Azula received either, but in the Fire Nation there was makeup and servant girls who were experts at applying it. "I haven't forgotten," Ty Lee mumbles, looking away.

Azula plucks her girlfriend's hand from her chest and brings it to her lips. Ty Lee looks back over at her hesitantly. "I'm sorry I couldn't take care of you," the acrobat whispers.

Azula laughs. "Remember what happened when we fought the Dai Li and ask yourself if I'm the one who needs to be taken care of."

"I really wanted to," Ty Lee continues. "For all the times you took care of me. And instead I let you sell your body for food and then get extorted." She looks near tears, and Azula rolls her eyes, because really, the drama with this girl is endless sometimes, but she sits up, cups the base of Ty Lee's skull with her free hand, and brings their lips together.

"None of those things… are your fault," Azula assures her between kisses. "I make.. my own decisions… If I hadn't thought… it was worth it… I would have let you starve."

She drops back to the pillow, pulling the acrobat down with her. One of her hands, still holding the Ty Lee's, is pinned to the mattress in the other girl's attempt to hold herself up. The other moves along her girlfriend's jaw and neck, down to her shoulder, easily exposed by the wide collar of the tunic. Ty Lee's fingers return to the mark at the center of her chest, toying with the hems of her robe.

"Do it," Azula breathes.

Ty Lee pulls away. "Do… are you sure?"

Azula raises an eyebrow. "Have you ever known me to act on a decision I wasn't sure about?"

"But what about last night?" Ty Lee asks, wrinkling her brow.

"That was then," Azula answers quickly. "This is now."

"Okay," Ty Lee replies slowly as her fingers move to the knot of the robe. She pulls it open and Azula watches, feeling slightly uncomfortable, as she runs her eyes up and down the Princess' body. She places her hands, soft and small, on Azula's stomach, and adjusts her weight so she can lean in and kiss the other girl again.

The feel of Ty Lee's mostly covered body against her mostly naked one is unpleasantly familiar, but Azula forces the thought from her mind as her girlfriend's fingers move up over her ribs to fidget against the swell of her breasts. When Azula says nothing to stop her, only continues to return the kiss, fingers are replaced with the palms of hands. She sighs into Ty Lee's mouth.

Before she knows what is happening, Ty Lee's lips are gone from hers, travelling over her jaw, down her neck, and across her chest. She fails to suppress a moan when they close around a nipple, and she can feel Ty Lee smile against her. The fronts of her teeth scratch lightly across her skin, jarring after the soft caress of the acrobat's lips, and Azula's breath catches in her throat as she remembers another, harsher set of teeth, unforgiving as they scrapped against the back of her neck.

She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to remind herself that she is not in the palace with her face pressed almost painfully into the silk sheets of a bed large enough for her to get lost in. She is at the Eastern Air Temple with the only person who has ever made her feel completely safe and unconditionally loved. Ty Lee's hands move to her ass as her lips slide further down the Princess' body to take up residence in the hollow of her hipbone, just above the hem of her underwear. She is on her back on a hard mattress in a tavern in the seediest part of Ba Sing Se—

No, she is at the Eastern Air Temple with Ty Lee.

One of the acrobats hands slips around the side of her thigh. She is a child in her bedroom in the Fire Nation, staring out her window at the lights of the capitol and waiting for pain, wondering why she ever wished for her brother's banishment.

"Azula?"

She does not realize she clenching her jaw shut so forcefully that it hurts until Ty Lee's voice snaps her from her thoughts. Her girlfriend's hand has stilled on the inside of her thigh as she stares up at her, worry written across her face. "You don't want to do this, do you?"

It would be so much easier to answer if she could not hear the disappointment and slight aggravation in the other girl's voice, despite the fact that she is clearly trying to mask it.

Ty Lee removes herself from between Azula's legs and crawls up the side of her body. "Would it help if you touched me first?" She takes the Princess' hand from the sheets and presses it to her own breast. Azula pulls jerks it away as if she has been burned.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ty Lee squeaks as Azula pushes her away, rolls out of the bed, and pulls the robe back around herself. "I want to help you! I just don't know how!"

"I thought I could handle it," Azula mutters, more to herself than anyone, but she hears Ty Lee climb off of the bed behind her, hears the pattering of her footsteps as she follows her across the room.

"It's okay," Ty Lee assures her. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Did I say I was sorry?" Azula leans on her elbows on the wooden window frame and sighs. "I know how much you wanted this. Don't think I'm not aware of that." It is like Azula with her firebending, she realizes. They are both so close to what they want, so close that they can feel it, and yet something stands in their way. In both cases, it is Azula, herself. Azula and her fear. Her inability to lay her trust completely with someone else.

"It doesn't matter," Ty Lee replies. "I'll get by. I don't want you to let me do something you're not ready for out of some twisted sense of _charity_ or something?"

"Charity?" Azula laughs, but it comes out hollow. "Does that sound like something I would do?"

"I don't know what goes on in your head," Ty Lee argues, though she does not sound upset. "I stopped trying to figure it out a long time ago."

Azula grimaces and shakes her head. "Honestly, I don't even know why you want it. You know who else has been here. It's disgusting."

She feels a pair of arms wrap slowly around her waist as Ty Lee's body settles hesitantly against her back. "You're not disgusting."

"That's not what I said," Azula points out.

"It's what you meant." A kiss pressed to the back of her neck from someone who knows her so well that sometimes it makes Azula uncomfortable. "I want it because it's you."

She does not know how she ever managed to hook someone like Ty Lee. Especially after years of believing she was going to die alone in the asylum, years of her father convincing her that maybe she deserved to.

"I love you," Ty Lee whispers. Azula can feel her breath, hot against the back of her shoulder, as she speaks.

"I know," she snaps. "You already told me that earlier today."

Against her back, she feels Ty Lee's chest expand with a sigh, but the acrobat says nothing.


	18. Fate Is Illuminating

Rain sprays through the windows of the air temple. Thunder echoes through the corridors. Everything is illuminated in eerie flashes of white. Lightning. Lightning is the reason Azula does not do well during storms.

When Ty Lee bursts into the bedroom, ready to catch her girlfriend in the middle of an assault, she finds Azula is seated in the center of the room, her back as straight as a board, her eyes closed in meditation. Ty Lee can see her eyebrows working. She thinks that the meditation is supposed to be calming, but Azula's determinedly slow breathing feels very tense. She is supposed to be delving deeper into herself. Perhaps that is why she looks so troubled.

"Azula?" Ty Lee asks quietly, but she receives no response, no acknowledgement at all. She moves cautiously toward the bed, squeezing the rainwater out of her braid and dripping onto the stone floor. "Umm… I guess just I'm going to go to sleep now," Ty Lee announces, in case the Princess is listening after all. She is not sure if she is supposed to speak. She does not know the proper etiquette when one is meditating. She did not grow up around anyone who practiced anything even remotely spiritual, and in the two months since Azula took it up, Ty Lee has never bothered to ask her.

She climbs into the bed, careful to avoid making it creak as much as possible, and rolls toward the wall. The lightning is less distracting this way. Part of her wonders if she should stay up in case Azula needs her, but—she glances back over her shoulder—Azula seems to be doing okay, and besides, surely she will hear if the Princess starts having a panic attack. They are not exactly quiet, and Ty Lee is a relatively light sleeper.

Ty Lee does not keep track of how long it takes for the storm to calm. She could if she wanted to, of course. They kept time by the sun and moon in the circus and on Kyoshi Island—she had never realized during her time in the Fire Nation that clocks were such commodities—but instead, she lies still, her back facing the window, listening to Azula's breathing. Waiting for it to catch and then rapidly speed up in the telltale signs of an oncoming episode. She is pleasantly surprised when one does not come. And then she is guilty, because as much as she professes that Azula can do anything, she knows that deep down she does not believe it. Deep down, she has doubts, just like everyone else. Azula does not need to know that, of course.

Once the storm dies down, the world falls silent. There is a slight whistle of a breeze against damp treetops outside and the sound of two girls breathing. After a while there is a rustle of cloth, a creak of the bed as Azula lays down beside her. Ty Lee rolls over to greet her with a smile.

"I thought you didn't like thunderstorms."

"I have nothing against thunderstorms," Azula replies breezily, settling into the cocoon Ty Lee has created for herself among the blankets.

"Oh…" Ty Lee answers. "Okay."

Azula raises an eyebrow. "You sound surprised."

"Well, you're just so…" she pauses, searching for a tactful way to say what she wants to say. "They just always seem to make you upset is all."

"They make me _crazy_ ," Azula amends sharply. "There's a difference."

"Not tonight though," Ty Lee comments. "What did you do?"

"I…" Azula pauses, and when she speaks again, her voice is airy, sarcastic, bitingly mocking, but not in the way it used to be when the Princess imitated her father's advisors or Long Feng back in Ba Sing Se. There is a hint of reverence there, masked enough to be invisible to someone who has not spent the better part of their childhood listening to Azula mock people, that tells Ty Lee she is not really as dismissive as she wants to sound. "Cleared my mind of troublesome thoughts."

"I thought you didn't like meditation." Ty Lee furrows her brow in confusion. "You said it was pointless."

"You don't have to think something has a point to learn how to do it," Azula informs her. "I would never have learned the flute if that was the case." She sighs disdainfully. "Besides, it's not like I have a better way to spend my time. This island is so dull."

Ty Lee fixes her with a withering stare. "Well, I'm glad you found a use for the meditation, as much time as you've been spending on it."

Azula hesitates. "It just… made sense to try. Your guru friend keeps telling me that it will help me _defeat my fears_ and _channel my power through love_ or whatever it is he keeps going on about." She pauses again, and she seems to be straining for words in a way Ty Lee has never seen her do before. Words have always come so easily to Azula. "I just thought it was worth a try."

"What were you thinking about?" Ty Lee asks her.

"Nothing," Azula snaps. "That's the entire point of meditation."

"You're never thinking about nothing," the acrobat replies with a smirk, because sometimes she does not think Azula gives her enough credit for how well she knows her.

Azula crosses her arms and scowls. "That's above your rank."

"Above my _rank?_ " Ty Lee repeats incredulously. "I don't work for you anymore, _Princess_ Azula. I'm your girlfriend."

"Which is why I haven't yet set you on fire for intruding on the inner recesses of my mind, which belongs to _me_ , need I remind you." Azula's face softens, and Ty Lee thinks she sees her shoulders slacken a little. "I believe I've been more than forthcoming with you tonight. If total honesty is what you think you signed up for, I'm afraid you're in the wrong relationship."

Ty Lee sighs. "I'm not in the wrong relationship. Sometimes I wish I was." She gives the Princess a sharp poke in the ribs. "It would be easier."

When Azula does not reply, Ty Lee reaches for her hand and laces their fingers together. "I'm so proud of you," she murmurs, laying a kiss on her girlfriends lips.

"The pride I care about it my own," Azula replies fiercely, her eyes burning.

"Good." Ty Lee brings Azula's hand to her mouth, kisses each knuckle. "That's the way it should be." She wants to say that if Azula had only had that outlook four years ago, it might have saved her her sanity and her throne, but she decides she does not want to risk angering the Princess tonight, not after such a victory, so she merely rolls about towards the wall and pulls Azula's arm around her. She feels the other girl melt into her back, and she thinks that she does not care how _dull_ this island is. They could almost be happy here.

* * *

"You did well last night," the guru says without opening his eyes as Azula approaches him at the top of the pillar the next morning. She spreads the blanket from the bed in the room where she burned nearly burned Ty Lee on the rock because the ground is still damp, and she does not want to spend the rest of the day down by the river trying to wash mud out of the seat of her pants.

"You don't know what I did last night," Azula comments halfheartedly. At this point, she knows better than to argue, but it rarely stops her. It was always the same way with her mother.

"I felt your chi flowing from the temple," he replies, his eyes still closed. "It was steady, calm, like a leaf in a river."

"I was meditating," Azula explains shortly. It feels strange to say it, halfway between announcing a brilliant idea she had and admitting she was wrong.

This time, the old man does open his eyes. His lips spread into a wide smile. "Excellent," he answers. "You are beginning to learn on your own."

"Learn to what? Meditate?" Azula scoffs. "It's not like there's a whole lot to it. All you have to do is close your eyes and not think. I've practically been an expert at it for a while now."

The guru eyes her reproachfully. "I think you of all people should know that not thinking is not always as easy as it sounds." He gently shakes his head. "But that is not what I meant. You are beginning to learn how to help yourself."

"I suppose I am," Azula replies slowly, sitting up a little straighter, her brain working ahead to try to discern she is walking into some sort of trap. "Is that it then? Does that mean I can go?"

"We will be separated very soon," he answers. "But not yet. For now, I would like you to tell me how you blocked the storm out. What were you thinking about? What was powerful enough to staunch all that fear?"

"I'm not supposed to think about anything, remember?" Azula snaps. "I was meditating."

"But you have never been able to block out your thoughts completely," the guru comments, and she frowns. No one ever used to question her. He is just as bad as Ty Lee. "Was it those you love?"

Azula's eyes flit toward the temples, and she hopes that the guru did not notice. "No," she replies sharply. "I told you—"

"I know what you told me." Azula's eyes widen as the old man interrupts her for the first time in their two months as mentor and student. "So you are telling me never loved your friends?"

"No," Azula answers, her voice hard, determined.

"You never loved your brother?" he asks again.

"No," she insists, her frustration growing.

"Your mother?"

"No."

"Your father?"

There is a sharp intake of breath from Azula, and the guru tilts his head to the side. "Did you love your father?"

The Princess drops her eyes, and when she speaks, her voice sounds mechanical. "I can't love."

"What happened to him?" the guru asks softly.

"He used me," Azula murmurs. "He used me to get what he wanted, whatever he wanted, and then, when he didn't need me anymore, he cast me aside like a broken toy."

"What did that do to you," he probes.

"It drove me insane." She looks back up, and her eyes are on fire. "He was all I had left. Everyone else had already left me. He was the only one who knew what I was, _everything_ I was, and could still stand to be around me." Her voice is escalating in volume, quickly becoming shrill and out of control. She is aware that Ty Lee may be able to hear her from inside the temple, but she does not care. It feels… cathartic. "So I gave him everything I had. I gave him the Earth Kingdom on a silver platter, and he gave me an obsolete throne to _placate_ me. He made me like this. Maybe he should have asked himself if he was going to like the person standing in front of him when he was finished."

She breaks off, takes the calming breaths that the guru has taught her, and tells herself over and over that she will not cry in front of his man.

"How did you feel about your father?" he asks, his voice almost a whisper, as if he knows he is coming very close to her very core.

She grits her teeth like the question is paining her. "I… loved him," she gasps. "And he used that love."

"That," the guru replies, "Is why you are afraid to trust. It has been used to hurt you in the past. It is not that you are not capable. It is that you are afraid."

"I know," Azula admits, still concentrating on steadying her breathing.

"But," he continues. "Through trust, through love, you will find peace and balance. It is the only way." She nods, squeezing her eyes shut. "We are finished," he adds. "You know all you need to know to complete the rest this journey on your own."

* * *

Azula is standing at the edge of one of the verandas staring over the face of the mountain when Ty Lee finds her. There is music, and at first, the acrobat is not sure where it is coming from, and then she realizes it is a flute.

"Azula?"

The Princess turns, lowering the instrument from her mouth. "Ty Lee." Her voice is oddly warm as she greets the other girl.

"You were playing the flute I got you," Ty Lee comments, gesturing weakly at the wooden object in Azula's hands. It is battered after their travels and slightly warped from being submerged when their boat capsized.

"Oh," Azula looks down at it disinterestedly. "Yes. My mother wanted me to learn how to play. My father thought it was a waste of time. That's why I stopped having lessons when I was nine. My father cancelled them after she left, and I practiced firebending for an extra hour instead." Her hand finds Ty Lee's, grips it tightly, and the acrobat's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"So you're doing it to spite your father or something?" she asks, her eyebrows raised. "Azula… you know he's dead right?"

The Princess sighs. "I have something to tell you," she replies as Ty Lee swings their joined hands back and forth in a gentle arc.

"What is it?" Ty Lee swallows, wondering if she would be preparing herself for the worst. _I never liked you, and I was lying to manipulate you. I was the one who ordered your father's death. I still haven't given up my desire to be Fire Lord._

Azula takes a deep breath. "I know how to love."'

"I know," the acrobat answers, relief washing over her. Relief mingled with confusion. This conversation is not going at all the way she was expecting it to.

"I loved my father," Azula admits.

"Really?" Ty Lee asks. "I loved mine too."

"Despite everything he did," the Princess sighs. "I told myself it was because he loved me." A laugh like a bark escapes her lips. "I was so skilled at lying, I even had myself convinced."

"People forgive a lot of things when they're done by a parent," Ty Lee replies quietly.

Her situation is not Azula's, but she remembers what it felt like to be conflicted about loving her father. She remembers the day the news of his excursions hit the street, the other girls whispering behind their hands at school. Ty Lee had seen a girl fall from nobility two years before. She had been tormented endlessly until her family moved from the capital the following year. Ty Lee had even participated at Azula's behest. The only reason the other girls left Ty Lee alone was because she was at Azula's flank. She remembers moving from their house on the street leading up to the palace, same as Mai, to one farther from the center of the caldera, among civilians. She remembers seeing her mother, always so glamorous, refuse to leave her bed for weeks. It seemed like her mother never stopped crying after that. It was part of the reason she escaped to the circus as soon as she saw the opportunity. She could not stand that house, with its shutters always closed and her sisters always telling her to whisper because Mother is sleeping when Ty Lee could hear her sobbing in the next room perfectly well. Her father had barely been around, and Ty Lee knew he had another baby with another woman now, but she still missed him. She loved him. He was her father.

Suddenly Azula's arms are around her neck, her hands fisted in the back of Ty Lee's shirt, squeezing her shoulders so tightly that the acrobat can feel her girlfriend's entire body shaking against her own, though she is not crying. "Why did I choose to love the one person who was guaranteed to use it against me?"

Ty Lee rests a hand between her shoulder blades and marvels in the fact that Azula is actually _seeking out_ comfort. "I don't think we can choose not to love someone."

"I can do anything I want to," Azula growls into her shoulder, and Ty Lee does not contradict her, because she misses the Azula who actually believed that.

"I guess you could have ordered a servant to hate him for you or something," she comments instead. It sounds like a poor attempt at a joke when she says it out loud, but Azula laughs anyway, a gust of warm breath against Ty Lee's collar bone.

"They would have been too afraid of him to do it properly," the Princess answers.

"Someday you'll love someone who won't use it to hurt you," Ty Lee assures her. "It's okay to want that. It doesn't make you… weak or anything."

Azula pulls away from her and turns back toward the edge of the veranda. "I let him make me into whatever he wanted," she mutters. "I didn't even question it. And then when he decided he didn't like what I'd become, threw me away like he was tired of me." Her head snaps back to Ty Lee. "I hope you don't think you're going to change me too."

"Of course not," Ty Lee replies, inching toward her. "You're perfect the way you are. I've always thought that."

"Good," Azula looks away, back out over the mountainside. "Because it's not going to happen. No one is making me into anything I don't want to be ever again."

* * *

Azula wakes up before sunrise the next morning to train. She has missed firebending as the sun came up. She has been spending that time meditating with the guru. _When you are at the height of your physical power, your mind is most vulnerable_ , he had informed her when she had complained about it. As if she did not already know that. As if the comet was not evidence enough. But she has been dismissed from meditation now, and she will do it on her own time.

She extricates herself from Ty Lee's limbs, always wrapped around the strangest parts of her body by morning, and dresses in the least cumbersome clothing she can find—still not ideal for firebending; she has to tie knots in the sleeves of her shirt so they will not hang too loosely—and goes out onto the veranda.

Even at the height of sunrise, when colors like those in the oil paintings her mother used to make memorize the names of smear across the sky, she cannot produce a ball of flame larger than an orange, and it barely makes it three feet before it fizzles out, but it is more than she has been able to do for the past two months. The guru would tell her it was because of her revelation about love. Azula would like to tell herself it is the result of hard work, but the timing of the sudden breakthrough it suspicious, she has to admit. And as skeptical as she is about meditation, she cannot deny that it got her through the storm two nights ago. She has not gotten through a storm without panicking since she was in the asylum, with the cracks of thunder muffled by the thick, brick walls and heavy blinds that blocked out the lighting.

Ty Lee joins her after she has gone over all her forms once and is on a second round. "Azula, your bending looks great!"

"Yes, I've had a breakthrough, apparently," she mutters without breaking her stance.

"Maybe we can start sparring again soon," the acrobat adds enthusiastically, and Azula rolls her eyes, because it has taken her months to be able to bend at the level that Zuko was bending at by the time he was six. Anyone who can firebend can produce a flame the size of a piece of fruit. Azula thinks her _first_ flame was larger than this.

"Did I ever tell you about the first time I bent fire, Ty Lee?" she asks, moving through her forms as swiftly as ever. Her balance is still a little off. Her first two years in the asylum, she kept herself in shape. She had not given up until Zuko brought her back from that peasant village with her bending completely gone.

"No," Ty Lee answers eagerly. She takes a seat on the ground and folds her legs in a way that only Ty Lee can, flapping her knees up and down like some huge, awkward flutter bat.

"I was three," Azula begins. "We were on Ember Island for the month. We got to take longer vacations when my grandfather was alive. I'm sure you remember. We were on the beach and Zuko had this kite. He was flying it with our father. Father used to like Zuko before I started bending, you see."

"He didn't like him after you started bending?" Ty Lee asks, and Azula stares at her.

"Did you grow up under a rock or something?" she replies, her eyebrows raised. "Of course he didn't like him afterwards. That was my our mother always felt the need to fall all over herself to make him happy. That was why he burned and banished him just for speaking out of turn at a war meeting. Do you know how many times I've told a general his plan was idiotic?Anyway," she continues. "Zuko crashed the kite into my sandcastle and _ruined_ it. So I set his kite on fire."

Ty Lee bursts into a fit of giggles so forcefully that she has to plant a hand on the ground to keep herself upright. "That's so… that is so _you_ ," she gasps. She takes a deep breath and manages to calm herself down enough to get an entire sentence out. "So then what happened?"

"Well," Azula shrugs, "Zuko started crying because of his kite, so our mother promised to buy him a new one. I don't think she ever looked at me quite the same way after that. Father was pleased, of course. No one cared that my sandcastle was also destroyed. I spent hours on it," she glances over at Ty Lee mid-form to make sure that she still has her undivided attention. "I heard them arguing that evening. I don't remember what about. Me probably. That was usually what they fought over. Zuko was so jealous that I was a year younger than he was when he started bending that he wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the trip, and I started lessons the day we got back."

"That sounds like an, umm… interesting vacation," Ty Lee comments carefully.

Azula sighs. "It was one of our better ones, believe it or not."

"Why didn't your mother look at you the same way?" Ty Lee asks, and Azula groans, because really, the girl has a knack for asking the exact question she does not want asked.

"Because I was only three and my bending was already destructive, caused by anger," she answers. She decides, in that moment, that she is finished practicing for the morning and starts across the veranda to sit down across from her girlfriend. "She probably knew right then what I was going to grow up to be."

She feels a hand on her knee, and when she looks up, Ty Lee is leaning towards her, her eyes wide. "I'm sure that's not true. She was a non-bender. She was probably just intimidated by your power."

"She told me she always loved me," Azula tells her, dropping backwards onto her back and staring up at a cloudless sky. "I can't decide if I believe her."

"Azula, you were in the asylum," Ty Lee replies. "We didn't know if you were ever getting out. What reason did she have to lie?"

Azula narrows her eyes and lifts her head so she can study her companion. "How do you know she told me that in the asylum and not in Hira'a?"

Ty Lee drops her eyes, and Azula can tell she is trying not to smile. "Sound kind of carried through the door. Suki and I heard a lot of what went on in there."

Azula drops her head back to the ground. "I shouldn't even be surprised," she mutters. "I was stripped of everything else while I was in there. Why should privacy be any different?"

They are shrouded in silence for a moment before, nervously, Ty Lee speaks again. "Why aren't you with Guru Pathik?" she asks, and Azula can tell she is only trying to shift the subject to something less uncomfortable. "I thought you guys meditated in the morning."

"We did," Azula answers dryly. "I've graduated from your friend's school of self-betterment. He's taken me as far as he can on this journey. I've been released into the wild to fend for myself."

"Oh," Ty Lee replies. "Well, that's good, isn't it? It means you're getting better."

"It means the same thing it meant when my firebending instructor told my father that when I was twelve," she sighs. "I'll have to figure the rest out myself. How very tedious."

"Azula, do you think maybe…" She breaks off.

"Do I think what?"

"Do you think… well, it's just that if Guru Pathik isn't teaching you anymore, there's no real reason for us to stay here. Do you think maybe we should leave?" She sounds nervous. Azula can hear a rustling of fabric that she is sure is Ty Lee's hands fidgeting in her lap.

"I thought the reason was that the Earth King wasn't going to look for us here," she comments disinterestedly.

"It was, but," she hesitates. "Azula, we've been here for months. And no one knows where to find us. For all we know, Zuko might have made a deal with Earth King Kuei by now. Don't you think we should at least try to get back to civilization?"

"Perhaps," the Princess concedes. "And how exactly do you propose we do that?"

* * *

"This idea is ridiculous," Azula comments as they stumble through the forest. They are not used to walking anymore, and they are both out of breath. There is not much need for long walks to at the air temple. One trip a day to the stream to fetch water is not enough to keep either of them in shape. "You're never going to be able to repair it."

"There's only one hole in it," Ty Lee replies, unfazed. "How hard can it be?"

"How do you plan to patch a hole in a boat?" Azula asks, the skepticism apparent in her voice.

They emerge from the tree line along the beach. "I think it's that way." Ty Lee points to the left.

Azula rolls her eyes. "We're never going to find it. You made it invisible, remember? Because someone might steal it for scraps?"

"Whatever happened to _I can do anything I want to do?_ " Ty Lee calls over her shoulder. "I'm starting to think you're just making excuses not to leave. Did you realize you liked it here?"

"No," Azula grumbles defiantly.

"Then start picking up driftwood," Ty Lee adds. "We can use it to fix the boat."

"What are we going to attach it with?" Azula replies, and Ty Lee can tell that it is not a question so much as a statement design to alert her to how terrible a plan this is, but it could be years before anyone decides to visit this temple, and she is not going to give up without at least trying first.

Azula used to be like that. If they were still fourteen, Azula could probably have found a way to fix the boat overnight.

Ty Lee thinks she still can. She just needs to look at it first.

They find the boat a ways down the beach. Azula drops a pile of wood, which she surprisingly listened to Ty Lee and collected, at her feet. "Help me get it out," Ty Lee says, and Azula does it without complaint.

"What do you say we just sit here for a minute?" the acrobat gasps between panting breaths once they have pulled the boat onto the sand.

"Fine," Azula answers, dropping to the ground and leaning back against the wood. Ty Lee collapses into a heap on the sand next to her with a grunt.

"It's beautiful out here," she murmurs after a moment. "I love the sound of the ocean."

"Yes, you've mentioned that before," Azula answers. Ty Lee feels fingers on her cheek as the Princess brushes the hair away from her face. "I suppose it is nice. Even if I do prefer fire."

Ty Lee yawns. "Let's just sleep out here tonight. The sun's probably about to go down anyway. We can sleep in the boat. Like a campout. It'll be fun."

"It'll be fun," Azula repeats, and Ty Lee can hear the smirk in her voice. "Coming from you, those words are never followed by anything good."

"Come on, Azula," Ty Lee pleads. "What could possibly happen? We're just going to be laying in a boat. It's not like I'm asking you to climb a mountain with me or something."

"It is rather tempting." Azula twists Ty Lee's hair around her finger as she thinks. "I'll admit I don't love the idea of going all the way back up to the temple tonight."

"Good," Ty Lee sighs in relief. She thinks she might collapse if she tried to make the hike back today, and she is supposed to be the one who is in better shape. She scoots her body closer to the Princess and experimentally lays her head in her lap. To her mild surprise, Azula does not protest. She merely continues to play with the hair at Ty Lee's temples. Her eyelids droop, and she thinks if she is not careful, she might fall asleep right here. "Where do you want to go after this?" she murmurs.

"It's not like we have much of a choice in the matter," Azula answers, her voice, once again, tinged with annoyance. "We don't even know exactly where we are. We'll just have to get in the boat and row until we see land again."

"We should remember to bring water this time," Ty Lee adds offhandedly.

"Yes," Azula replies. "And we should try to know what direction we're going before we leave. I know the Eastern Air Temple is pretty far south. I don't want to end up on an iceberg somewhere, surrounded by snow people."

Ty Lee giggles. "You mean the Southern Water Tribe?" she asks. "I met some of them when I was guarding Zuko. They're really nice."

"They wear polar bear dog skin and they don't even take the hair off first," Azula comments. "It's like they don't even care where those animals have been. I think they roll in their own feces. It's disgusting."

"If you lived somewhere cold enough to freeze your spit before it hit the ground, you wouldn't care where that skin had been either," Ty Lee points out.

"In case you haven't noticed," Azula replies smugly. "I don't exactly need clothing to warm myself."

Ty Lee turns her head to scowl up at her. "I mean if you couldn't shoot fire out of your hands," she amends. "Obviously. They're all waterbenders, Azula."

"You mean one of them is a waterbender," the Princess argues. "The rest of them are a bunch of untalented peasants. I've met that brother of hers. He's a few sticks short of a fire. He even knew I was trying to manipulate him, and he still gave me what I wanted. I can't believe you were attracted to him."

"The only reason there's one waterbender left is because your grandfather killed all of the rest of them," Ty Lee insists.

"What's your point?" Azula scoffs. "We killed them because they weren't powerful enough to fight back, even when they were surrounded by their element. If they deserved to live they wouldn't have died."

"I don't think you really believe that," Ty Lee sighs as she traces her index finger through the sand near Azula's thigh. "That's your father talking."

The Princess does not answer, but her silence speaks volumes.


	19. Fate Is Determined

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, guys. I took a break from writing, and then I started posting again and just forgot to post here. I'd like to emphasize again that I do cross-post to ff.net, and the story is updated semi-regularly there because I never forget. It's also up to chapter 30 on that site, in case you don't want to wait.

They push the boat out into the waves a week after they start working on it. The hole is patched with driftwood, tree sap, and leaves the size of Ty Lee's head from a tree they found as they were trekking to the beach one morning. The patch job seems a little shoddy, even to Ty Lee, who is far from a perfectionist, but if Azula is willing to try to row the boat across an ocean when they are both very well aware that neither of them can swim, Ty Lee figures it must be foolproof. Azula did most of the work anyway. She probably has a better idea than Ty Lee does about how well it will work.

She tosses her bag of possessions, gathered from where they were strewn around the temple and now including a roughly made metal wind chime that she feels slightly guilty for pulling from one of the windows, and the dirty jug they found in the kitchen and filled with water from the stream that morning into the boat, and Azula pushes it out into the waves.

The Princess is in much better shape than she was when they arrived on the island. While she still lacks the stamina she had at fourteen, the stamina she had started to gain back during their journey from Ba Sing Se. She gets tired sometimes the acrobat has to talk her into resting, which Ty Lee cannot remember ever having to do when they were chasing the Avatar, but she can see muscle finally beginning to develop again. Azula's calves no longer look thin and soft as she guides the boat into the surf. Ty Lee remembers when they first arrived on the island. Azula had insisted that she did not need help pulling the boat into the trees. Initially, Ty Lee had allowed her to struggle, because if it was important to Azula to do it by herself, it was important to the acrobat to let her, but then she had decided the Princess was going to throw out her back if the charade went on any farther and insisted on picking up the other end of the boat.

When the water reaches their shoulders, Azula clambers over the side and into the bottom of the boat only slightly more gracefully than she did on the beach at the bottom of the Earth Kingdom, and reaches out for Ty Lee's hand.

"Ready to try this again?" Ty Lee asks with a smile as she pushes the oars that Azula made from branches and driftwood into the ocean.

"I'll try not to burn a hole in the boat this time," the Princess mutters, pulling herself onto the bench opposite her girlfriend.

Ty Lee shrugs. "I have faith in you. It's too bad your bending isn't strong enough to propel us though." Azula's face falls and the acrobat immediately knows that she has made a mistake. "Azula…" she grasps fruitlessly for words to repair the damage she has just done. "I didn't mean you were weak."

"No," Azula snarls. "You just meant that it would be more convenient if I was stronger."

Ty Lee cannot deny the accusation, so she says nothing. Unsteady on the water, Azula moves to the end of the boat and faces away from Ty Lee, toward that island that was their home for months, Ty Lee does not know exactly how many.

She sighs and begins to row them away. She forgets sometimes how sensitive Azula is about her meager bending abilities. It is almost worse now than it was when she could not bend at all. Before there was only resignation that she would never again be what she was. Now there is anger, frustration, because Ty Lee knows, has been told many times, that Azula can feel the fire inside of her. She just cannot make it come out. She is standing at the edge of a bottomless crevice just barely too large to jump across, and her former glory is waiting tauntingly on the other side. Ty Lee understands, or at least, she thinks she does. But maybe loosing ones bending is not something a non-bender will ever be able to understand.

"You know that I'm proud of you, right?" she tries, hope almost tangible in her voice.

"You're pride is condescending," Azula answers without turning around. She is impossible sometimes, but then, Ty Lee has always known that. "It implies that you're impressed, which implies that you thought I would fail."

"That's not how I meant it," Ty Lee mutters, looking away from her girlfriend. "I didn't mean I thought you couldn't do it. I know you can do anything. I just meant… I guess my expectations are just never high enough for you. That's all. I don't think it's possible not to underestimate you, Azula."

She hears a small sigh from the other end of the boat, but the Princess does not say another word. She merely swings her feet over the sides of the boat and leans back against the bench, watching their island disappear into the fog.

* * *

"When do you think we're going to get there?"

Ty Lee is lying on her back in the bottom of the boat, her hands folded behind her head, and Azula is at the oars. The sun has set on their first day at sea, and Ty Lee should be sleeping. It is almost her turn to row again, and she can feel her eyelids beginning to droop.

"What makes you think I would know the answer to that?" Azula snaps. She has still not entirely forgiven the acrobat for her comment that morning. Ty Lee hopes that things will be different once she gets some rest, but she knows from experience that Azula has no problem with holding grudges. It would just be much easier if she was not stuck at sea with a person who is hardly speaking to her.

Ty Lee shrugs. "You're the one who spent her childhood memorizing maps. I thought you knew the Earth Kingdom like that back of your hand or something like that."

"Does it look like we're in the Earth Kingdom?" Azula asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Umm… well, no, not exactly," she admits. "But we might be close to the Earth Kingdom, I guess."

"If you have no idea where we are, how can you expect me to?" Azula replies scathingly.

"You're _a lot_ smarter than me." It is a true statement, but Ty Lee exaggerates it to stoke the Princess' ego.

Azula sighs. "The Eastern Air Temple is located on an island just south of the Earth Kingdom's horn. That's in the eastern corner of the continent. We left going west. The island we were on was the largest and easternmost in an island chain. We'll either hit one of the other islands or the mainland again."

Ty Lee raises her eyebrows again. "That's so impressive, Azula. So how long do you think it will take?"

Azula rolls her eyes. "A couple of days, maybe. If we catch one of the tides, it will be faster."

"Do you think there will be people when we land?" the acrobat asks.

"If we're on the mainland, yes," Azula recites. She sounds like she is responding to a question in class back at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. "There are villages all along the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom. As far as I know, the islands are all mountainous and are largely uninhabited."

"I bet if the airbenders were still alive, they would be living on all the islands by now," Ty Lee comments.

"Don't be ridiculous," Azula scoffs. "A civilization doesn't grow that much in one hundred years. They'd have probably just built into another one of their mountains."

"Well, I hope we land on the mainland then," Ty Lee remarks, rolling onto her stomach so that she can no longer see the Princess and propping her chin on top of her hands

"Tired of me already?" Azula comments.

"Already?" the acrobat laughs. "I just spent months with only you and Guru Pathik. I need to see another person. Someone who doesn't speak completely in metaphors and doesn't dismiss half the things I say."

"And here I thought you and the Guru were such close friends."

"He was really interesting," Ty Lee elaborates. "And it was nice to be able to have a conversation about chi and auras for once without having to explain what they were first. But it's not like I could talk to him about hair or makeup." _Or you_. More than anything, Ty Lee wants someone who can help her through the most confusing relationship she has ever been in. She wants Mai. She wants Suki. Even Wu Ling would have been better than Guru Pathik for that particular purpose.

"You could have talked to me about those things," Azula replies, and she almost sounds hurt, but Ty Lee rolls her eyes.

"Azula, please. You can't even do your own hair and makeup. I do your hair for you. And besides," she looks back over her shoulder to study her girlfriend. "You can't honestly tell me you'd be interested in talking about that. Remember when I used to offer to teach you how to do it when we were younger? All you cared about learning was firebending and leading an army. You said it was servant stuff."

"Do I look like I've put much thought into leading an army recently?" Azula snaps. Then she sighs. "It has become apparent to me that knowing how to fix my hair is a skill that might come in handy one day, if no one is there to do it for me."

Ty Lee sits up quickly, nearly knocking her head on the underside of the bench. "Do you want me to teach you, Azula? Because I can teach you—"

"Later." Azula cuts her off. "When I'm not piloting a boat and I can focus on it."

"It's just hair." Ty Lee shrugs and drops back onto her back in the bottom of the boat. "It's not that hard."

"When have I ever done anything halfway?" Azula replies, and Ty Lee knows without even thinking that she has not. Azula has always taken learning seriously, even when she thinks it is pointless.

* * *

They are halfway to Kyoshi Island before Suki finally gets up the nerve to make the five-minute walk to the next deck of the airship to knock on Mai's door. She has been putting off the conversation, telling herself that she can just ask one of the other Kyoshi Warriors, telling herself that there is still time for Ty Lee to come back. But she is getting married in three days. There is no time left.

Mai answers almost immediately, and her eyes widen slightly when she spots Suki standing there. "Your shift ended an hour ago," she comments as she steps aside to allow the warrior to enter.

"I know." Suki studies the ornate carpet. It amazes her that even the interior is so nice on the Royal Airship. Even the guards' quarters, where she is staying, are nicer than the ones in the palace. As the captain, she even has her own room. "I was going to ask you before I left, but I chickened out," she admits. Her hands are twisting in front of her, and she can almost feel Mai's eyes on her, studying her silently.

Their friendship is no longer new, but it is still fragile. It is not the easy kind of friendship that Suki has with Ty Lee and the other warriors. It is still rather hot and cold sometimes, and if Suki takes too large a step forward, Mai takes a step back, but their relationship has settled in place for the time being, and Suki is afraid to overstep her bounds.

"Well, I'm about to go to sleep, so if you chicken out again, don't come back tonight." She turns her back to Suki and starts toward the bed.

"I have a question for you," Suki begins nervously.

"Yes, I figured that out when you said you wanted to ask me something," Mai replies.

"Well, it's just…" she hesitates. "I'm not sure if you know how Earth Kingdom weddings work…"

"I don't," Mai answers.

"Oh, okay, well…" she sighs in frustration, because this should _not_ be this hard a question to ask, but she knows that Mai is not sentimental. Mai will probably think it is stupid. "I need someone to walk ahead of me during the ceremony and clear the way. It's supposed to be an earthbender, and they're supposed to use their bending to literally clear a path for the bride to walk on, but that part of the tradition sort of fell out of use during the war, when all the earthbenders were locked up in camps, so now they just lay down a really long carpet instead. Anyway, I need someone to do it for me, and I was wondering if you would." The last sentence spills from her lips like a waterfall.

Mai freezes in the middle of pulling copious amounts of throw pillows off of the bed and looks back at her. "Let me get this straight." She annunciates her words carefully. "You want me to be in your wedding."

"Yes," Suki answers quickly. "And I know it's not really your thing—there will be a lot of people crying and stuff—but I just wanted to ask because… you're sort of my best friend. Even though it's my job to spend time with you." She finishes with a grimace. "It's fine if you don't want to," she adds when Mai does not reply right away.

Mai heaves a long sigh. "I'll do it."

"I really won't be angry if you—wait what?" Suki eyebrows shoot into her bangs as she looks up to meet the future Fire Lady's eye for the first time since she entered the room.

"You made a very compelling case," Mai answers, turning back to the bed and beginning to pull the blankets back. "And I know you don't have many friends."

"That's not true!" Suki cries incredulously, her hands flying to her hips. "The Kyoshi Warriors are my friends. That's fifteen right there. And I have friends on the island—"

"That you haven't seen in years," Mai interrupts. She fixes Suki with an appraising look. "You know I'm joking, right?"

"I didn't know you knew how to joke," Suki mutters, crossing her arms and jutting her lip out in the way that Ty Lee always used to do when she was being ordered to a post she did not want.

Mai crosses the room and stops in front of her. "I said I'd do it. Okay?"

Suki sighs and nods her head. "Thanks, Mai." She reaches out to hug the other woman, and feels her stiffen in her arms. Eventually, the body of the future Fire Lady relaxes, but Mai does not return the hug. This is already more than Suki has learned to expect from her anyway.

* * *

The boat is caught by a tide on the third day.

"Thank goodness," Ty Lee sighs, pulling the oars in and collapsing on the bottom of the boat in exhaustion. The fog has been thick all morning, and it makes it very difficult to know whether she is rowing in a straight line like she is supposed to be or taking them in circles. The only reassurance she has is that each of her biceps hurt about equally.

"You do know that you still have to row if we're going to get anywhere any faster, right?" Azula asks, one of her eyebrows arching. Ty Lee has always admired Azula's eyebrows.

"It's been hours," Ty Lee replies. "Just let me lie here for a couple minutes, okay?"

"Fine," Azula sighs. "You know, your work ethic used to be much better."

"Only because I thought you might kill me if I stopped before I was done with whatever I was supposed to be doing," the acrobat points out.

She feels a hand cover hers, fingers curling around her palm. "I wouldn't have killed you," Azula tells her, not for the first time.

Ty Lee laughs. "Well, I know that _now_. But I didn't then." She repositions her hand within Azula's so that she can lace their fingers together. "You weren't… aren't exactly open about your feelings. I never really knew where I stood."

"You're an open book and I never knew what was going on in your head either," Azula points out.

Ty Lee shrugs. "Not very much, most of the time. But it's okay." She pats the back of her girlfriend's hand reassuringly. "You're just not very good with people you're not trying to manipulate."

"But I _was_ trying to manipulate you," the Princess argues.

"I knew it!" Ty Lee gasps. "Well, you're just not very good with anyone you want to actually like you."

Azula shakes her head. "I suppose that's true. I just think—"

But what Azula just thinks is something that Ty Lee never gets to find out, because she is interrupted by a loud crash. Something hits Ty Lee's shoulder, and then she is wet. Very wet. Water is spraying through the side of the boat.

"Not again," Azula shrieks, shooting too her feet so suddenly that she nearly topples into the ocean.

"What is it? What happened?" Ty Lee cries, getting shakily to her knees, her fingers feeling around at the area near her shoulder blade, assessing the damage. They come away red.

"Rocks," Azula answers, throwing the oars back into the water. "This is why you shouldn't have stopped rowing."

"You didn't have a problem with it two minutes ago," Ty Lee argues.

"We weren't sinking two minutes ago."

Ty Lee presses her hands to the leak as Azula try desperately to guide them around the rocks, but the tiny boat is tossing and turning and slamming into things left and right, and before either of them really knows what has happened, they are taking on water from four different places and the boat is making a creaking sound that Ty Lee is certain cannot be a good thing.

"It's going to break in half," Azula informs her as they collide with another rock and are sent flying to the right. They hit another rock hard and Ty Lee is thrown into the water.

She cannot breathe. She is surrounded by water and she does not know how to get back to the surface. Her shoulder stings. The current pulls at her body violently. She slams into something hard and there is a shooting pain in her hip. Her head is above water for a split second, just long enough for her to take a breath. Then she is back underwater. Cold and dark. She does not know how she will know if she dies. Someone is grabbing at her. She feels fingers fumble with her hair, her neck, and then latch around the collar of her shirt. She is pulled to the surface.

The next thing she knows, she is holding onto a large piece of wood as she purges half the ocean from her lungs. Someone is rubbing her back. For a second, she thinks it might be her oldest sister. Then, when she is finally able to stop coughing long enough to take in her surroundings, she remembers. She and Azula were in a boat. Were. They are not anymore.

She is holding on to a fraction of the boat, a piece that looks like it came from somewhere near the center of the left side. Azula is staring at her in concern.

"What happened?" Ty Lee asks. When her girlfriend's eyebrows furrow further, she realizes that her voice sounds dazed. Concussion, Azula is probably thinking. Her shoulder and hip are killing her. Her head feels fine. "What happened?" she repeats, her voice as strong as she can make it.

"We hit a rock field," Azula explains. "There must be land nearby. I just can't see anything." She sounds angry and frustrated, and Ty Lee does not blame her, but now is not exactly the best time for Azula to get worked up. She has not been back in control of her bending long enough that Ty Lee is no longer worried it might appear accidentally if her emotions are running high, and she is not willing to risk the possibility that Azula's fire might destroy what little they have left of the boat.

"Where are my things?" she asks, looking around. It is a convenient way to change the subject, but she genuinely wants to know.

"Oh…" Azula suddenly looks uncomfortable. "On their way to the bottom of the ocean now, I guess."

Ty Lee gasps. "What?"

"I wasn't worried about a bunch of _things_ ," Azula growls defensively as Ty Lee feels her eyes begin to well with tears. "I was a little more focused on making sure you didn't drown."

Without really thinking, Ty Lee pushes herself away from the boat-turned-driftwood that is keeping her afloat and drops beneath the water. In mere seconds, she is being pulled back up by her upper arm.

"What are you doing?" Azula demands, wrenching her back to the boat as she struggles to escape the Princess' clutch.

"I have to get them!" she cries, continuing to rage against Azula, but her girlfriend pulls her toward her with a strength regained from practicing her bending on the veranda back at the air temple every morning. "That's all I had of… of… everything!"

"It's gone!" Azula shouts at her as she begins to sob. "Ty Lee, it's gone."

She is back on the driftwood, nestled tightly into Azula's chest, and she realizes that she is being stupid. She is not willing to die for a wind chime and a mobile and a silk from Kyoshi Island. She cannot be. Azula needs her.

"They're only things," the Princess murmurs in a more comforting tone than Ty Lee was aware she possessed.

The acrobat shakes her head. "They were my entire life."

"We can replace them," Azula assures her. "The next town we arrive in, you can buy something, whatever you want, and I won't even make you feel guilty about spending our food money."

She shakes her head again, still tucked tightly against Azula's collar bone. "We'll starve if you do that. Besides, those things aren't replaceable. My mother made that mobile just for me before I was born. I think it was the only thing she ever did just for me. And that flute. I can't just go out and buy another flute that sat on the floor in the corner of our apartment for months and that you played at the Eastern Air Temple. I can't just buy another paper lantern that I stole from a shop the night before our coup during the war, when I thought we might all die."

"The lantern would have been ruined even if you had gotten that bag back," Azula points out. "You don't need things to remember anyway. I've never collected souvenirs and I have a perfect memory."

"Well, I'm not you, Azula." Her tone is biting, uncalled for, and she knows it.

Azula's grip on her slackens momentarily, but then she catches herself. "I won't apologize for saving you before your possessions."

Ty Lee sighs. She knows she is being ungrateful. When she was young, her nanny—or maybe one of her sisters, she cannot quite remember—used to tell her a story about a traveler who was mugged in the dangerous Earth Kingdom. A good Fire Nation colonist saved him, but then, after he realized he was out of danger, he began to yell at the colonist for failing to chase down the robber and recover his money. The colonist had been about to offer him a free room at his inn for the night, but after the traveler's outburst, he decided the man did not deserve any more of his help, so the man slept on the ground behind a bush, and in the night, the robber returned to find him unprotected, and killed him.

The ending was quite dark for a children's tale, Ty Lee now recognizes, but it certainly had succeeded in driving the message into her young brain.

She looks up at her girlfriend, drenched in sea water with a blossoming bruise on the side of her neck that either came from the numerous collisions in the rock field or, Ty Lee realizes to her horror, she inflicted herself during their struggle.

She throws her arms around the other girl's neck, nearly dragging them both underwater, and then lays a soft kiss on the bruise. "Thank you for saving me," she says.

"Well, I wouldn't let you die," Azula answers as if this is something she should have already known. Ty Lee plants another kiss on her lips as Azula struggles to hold them above the water with one arm.

* * *

When Azula wakes up, they are on another beach. Part of her wonders if their entire time at the Eastern Air Temple and all of her work with that guru was some trauma induced dream, but—she sits up and lights her hand—she has her bending. So they are somewhere else. The last thing she remembers was being on the wreckage, holding onto Ty Lee as she went to sleep, still with tears glistening in her eyes from her lost possessions.

Ty Lee was never particularly materialistic. When they were fourteen, Azula and Mai were both worse. They had both grown up in a life of luxury, both from very small, very wealthy families. Even before Ty Lee's father was ruined, she had had less than either of them. Wealth distributed between nine people looks like a lot less than the same amount of wealth distributed between three. Ty Lee had never had her own room. In the palace, Azula had her own wing. Azula guesses, then, that she must have attached some sort of great value to her things. After all, she willingly left everything behind when she ran away to the circus. It cannot be simple greed. Azula is no longer sure if Ty Lee is even capable of such a thing. Vanity, pride, envy certainly, but not greed.

Her head is throbbing and the sun's light hurts her eyes. The rush of the waves sounds as loud as the drill she tried to use to tunnel into Ba Sing Se. She presses a hand to her forehead as stars explode in front of her eyes. _Shake it off_ , she tells herself. She remembers going to train the morning after having a handprint burned into her back. She has fought through much worse pain.

She struggles to her feet and looks around. It takes a moment for the beach to come into focus. A few yards away, the piece of driftwood lies overturned on the sand. Beneath it, Ty Lee appears to still be unconscious. Azula would like to think that she simply slept through the incident, but she knows that is unlikely to be the case.

With a grunt of pain, she lifts the piece of driftwood off of her companion. There is a large red mark across Ty Lee's shoulder and chest where the side of the boat was braced against her body, but none of her limbs appear to be lying at angles they should not be, and Azula does not see any new blood.

"Ty Lee!" she calls softly, shaking the other girl's the shoulder. Her own voice sounds louder than she can remember it sounding when she had to project to the entire Dai Li. "Ty Lee, wake up."

The acrobat does not stir, and it sends a jolt of panic through Azula's body. She slips her arms under the over girls knees and shoulders and picks her up.

Ty Lee is heavier than Azula remembers her being, which is surprising, because Ty Lee did not just come out of the circus. She is not as muscular as she was when they were hunting the Avatar. Perhaps Azula is just weaker. Azula knows she is weaker.

She staggers to her feet and begins to walk up the beach. She has no idea what current they caught. She does not know whether this is the landmass they were near when they hit the rock field. It is still chilly for mid-summer, so she knows they must not have gone too far north. They are probably not on the Earth Kingdom's mainland.

She walks for a while before she sees another person. Judging by the sun's position in the sky, it has not actually been very long, but her head still hurts and her arms ache from carrying her girlfriend's dead weight, so it feels like she has been walking for days before she sees the silhouette of another person standing on the beach, gazing out into the waves. As much as she distains the idea of asking for help, she has to admit that they cannot carry on like this. Ty Lee may have a head injury and Azula has no knowledge of how to treat something like that.

As she approaches, the figure looks up. A girl, by the length of her hair and shape of what appears to be a dress. She brings and hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun, and then the Princess hears in a surprised voice that makes her stomach drop practically out of her body, "Azula?"

It is that Kyoshi Warrior. The one who is friends with Ty Lee.

The other girl is approaching them now at somewhere between a walk and a job. "Azula, what are you doing here? I thought you guys were still in Ba Sing Se." Then her eyes fall on the girl cradled in Ty Lee's arms. "That happened to her?" she gasps. "If you did something to her, I swear, I'll—"

"I would never hurt her," Azula mumbles, too tired to be difficult. "Our boat was destroyed at sea. We washed up on the beach… I'm not really sure how long ago. I've just regained consciousness."

"Your boat?" Suki narrows her eyes. "Why were you on a boat?"

"Well, we had to get off the island somehow," Azula replies, as if it should have been obvious, because there is really not time for this. She expects to have to explain her presence here on… wherever they are… at some point, and if Azula cannot find some way to make an escape before then, she will oblige, but right now, Ty Lee needs medical attention. "Is there a healer nearby?"

"You mean a waterbending healer?" Suki asks. "No. You'd think we'd have one, so close to the South Pole, but no. There's a herbalist in town though. She usually treats illnesses and injuries. Should I take you to her?"

It takes the Princess a moment to weigh her options. She does not know where _in town_ is, whether it is somewhere she could be recognized, and she briefly wonders if it is a better idea to leave Ty Lee in Suki's care and stay hidden, but, she glances down at the body in her arms, she is hesitant to allow her girlfriend out of her sight. If they separate now, while Ty Lee is unconscious, it may be difficult to reunite again.

"Where are we?" she barks, and Suki looks surprised.

"Kyoshi Island."

Azula sighs in relief. Kyoshi Island is secluded, and it was never invaded by the Fire Nation, save for when Zuko burned down half the village searching for the Avatar. There is little chance anyone here will know what she looks like. It is a small enough community that people may wonder about the new face in town, but Azula intends to be long gone before that gossip of peasants can escalate into anything more.

"Yes," she answers. "Take us to your herbalist."

Suki nods mutely and gestures for Azula to follow her up a path that leads away from the beach.

"You have strange timing," Suki informs Azula over her shoulder as they are clambering down a narrow path through the forest, no longer in sight of the beach. "I'm here for my wedding. Your brother and his friends are here too."


	20. Fate Is Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, guys. I do want you all to know that I only have one chapter left to actually write, so this fic will get finished.

Ty Lee wakes up to the sun pouring through the window, capturing the bed in a warm, golden glow. It takes her a moment to recognize the strangeness of the situation, the fact that the last thing she remembers is falling asleep on a piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean with Azula rubbing gentle circles into her back.

She struggles upright, and her head throbs. She presses her fingers to her temples and tries to focus, but she cannot summon any further memories. Her shoulder is bandaged. It stings when she moves her arm, but at least it takes her mind off the headache.

"You're awake." The voice that speaks to her is soft and sounds unnaturally gentle after months of being accustomed only to Azula's unforgiving tongue. It is welcome.

Ty Lee looks up and gasps in disbelief. "Suki?"

"Hi," Suki replies. "We were starting to wonder if you were just staying asleep on purpose."

"Where am I?" Ty Lee asks, squinting and looking around the room. "What happened?"

"You mean you don't recognize my bedroom?" Suki asks in mock offense. "You're on Kyoshi Island. I guess you guys shipwrecked or something. I found Azula carrying you up the beach."

"We got caught in a rock field," Ty Lee recalls. "Is that near here?"

Suki shrugs. "I don't know of one. But I'm not a sailor." She perches herself on the side of the bed, placing a tray that Ty Lee is just noticing beside her. "I brought your favorite fruits. I wasn't sure how long it had been since you last ate. Azula didn't look too good, when I—"

"Wait," Ty Lee squeaks, suddenly straightening up and looking around the room desperately. "Azula! Where is she?"

She feels a reassuring hand on her knee. "She's fine," Suki assures her. "She's with the herbalist. You've been here an entire day, and she didn't think to mention until this morning that loud noises and bright lights made her head hurt. I don't think she slept."

Ty Lee sighs. "She worries. She just doesn't like to show it." Her brow furrows as another question strikes her. "Wait, why aren't you in the Fire Nation? Zuko didn't fire us, did he, because I don't think I could leave—"

Suki laughs. "No, he didn't fire us. Are you kidding? We're the best thing that's ever happened to the palace. I'm here for my wedding. I'm marrying Sokka tomorrow." Ty Lee squeals and comes at her friend with the force of a hurricane, wrapping her arms around her neck tightly enough to constrict the other girl's breathing. "Zuko and Mai are here too," she adds, when the acrobat finally releases her, wincing and rubbing her throat.

"I can't believe this!" Ty Lee exclaims. "I've never had such a lucky shipwreck."

Suki raises her eyebrows. "You've had more than one?"

"Long story," Ty Lee answers dismissively with a wave of her hand. "Azula and I should never get in a boat together again."

"So what happened?" Suki asks. "Why aren't you in Ba Sing Se?"

"The Dai Li finally caught up with us," Ty Lee answers. "We had to flee. We were at one of the air temples for months." She shrugs weakly. "It's probably better that we left. Azula was having a really hard time in Ba Sing Se anyway. The air temple was good for her. She's getting her firebending back."

"She's _what?_ " Suki eyes widen almost dangerously.

"She's getting her bending back," Ty Lee repeats. "Not… not a lot. She told me she couldn't defeat a toddler in an agni kai. But at least there's hope now. Azula would say hope is worthless, but it's still more than she had before, and that has to be worth _something_ , right?"

"She didn't tell me she was getting her bending back." Suki sighs and shakes her head. "Ty Lee, are you sure you can handle her? We can figure out something else. Zuko's been worried out of his mind anyway. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I bet he'd jump at the chance to have her back in the palace."

Ty Lee gives her a reassuring smile. "I think you're forgetting who you're talking to. I took Azula down at the height of her power. I was the only person to take her down until she started losing it. Besides," she can feel the color beginning to rise to her cheeks, and she drops her eyes to the bed, "she wouldn't hurt me. I know it sounds naïve, but it's true. When her bending first started coming back, she almost burnt me after waking up from a nightmare, and she—" Ty Lee breaks off, realizing her mistake too late. She and Azula have not talked about telling their friends and family—or, more accurately, Azula's family and Ty Lee's friends—about their relationship. There had never been a need to before, when they were out of contact with everyone. She sighs and readies herself to deal with her girlfriend's possible anger later. "She wouldn't let me sleep in the same bed with her again until she got her bending under control," Ty Lee finishes lamely.

Suki is silent for a long time. Ty Lee would like to know what she is thinking, but, for once, she is afraid to look her friend in the eye. _Azula had Suki tortured_ , she remembers in horror. _You can't expect her to take this gracefully_.

"Ty Lee…" she finally says, her words slow and methodical. "What exactly is going on between you and Azula."

Ty Lee heaves a painful sigh as her shoulders deflate. "We're together," she mumbles, studying the threads of the blanket with interest. She sounds like a child who has just been caught taking a string of pearls from her mother's jewelry box.

"Together like…" Suki trails off, as if she is unable to say the words.

"Like a couple," Ty Lee finishes, nodding in confirmation. "It happened at the beginning of spring, right before we got to the air temple. It was a surprise for me too." She rubs at the back of her neck uncomfortably. "This isn't how I wanted you to find out."

She sees Suki cross her arms out of the corner of her eye. "Well, how did you want me to find out, Ty Lee?" she demands, her voice suddenly venomous. It makes Ty Lee flinch. "How exactly were you planning on telling me that you're _fucking_ the person who spent months _torturing_ me?"

"We've never had sex," the acrobat mutters, and it feels like a completely insufficient answer that misses the point entirely. "I didn't know when I was going to see you again," she admits. "I hadn't really thought about it."

Suki stands up quickly, as if the bed is suddenly burning her. "I need some time to wrap my head around this," she announces. "Eat your fruit."

The door of the bedroom closes, and Ty Lee is alone.

* * *

"I heard you were in town."

Azula sighs as the sound of heavy footsteps approaches her. Still the same Zuko. Possessing less stealth than it would take to sneak up on a comatose snail sloth.

"If you're here for an explanation as to why I'm not in that hovel you set us up with in Ba Sing Se, I hate to disappoint you, but it's not story time," Azula comments without turning around.

"Can I walk with you?" Zuko asks.

"No," Azula snaps, even though she knows her answer will make no difference. Zuko falls into step beside her.

"So," he begins awkwardly, and Azula rolls her eyes. _This_ is the person with whom the fate of the entire Fire Nation rests. Well, she thinks bitterly, fate is cruel. Her life is proof enough of that. "How are you?"

"How do I look, brother?" she answers. She has not had an opportunity to bathe since they left the air temple. Her hair is limp and tangled and her clothes still smell of the ocean. She has sand in places she did not even know had crevices, and she has barely slept because Ty Lee was still unconscious all night.

"Umm…" He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Not so good. I hear your boat sunk and you washed up on the beach."

"Well, aren't you well-informed."

"Is Ty Lee okay?" Zuko continues. "I heard she was injured in the wreck."

"She was still out when I left," Azula replies, irritated. "I'm _trying_ to get back to see if she's woken up yet."

"Azula, what were the two of you doing in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean?" Zuko prods, and if Azula was not extremely worried about her girlfriend and desperately trying not to show it, she would have been able to admit that it is a reasonable question. It is certainly a question that she would ask, albeit with less worry and more amusement in her voice.

However, she is worried and she is trying not to show it, and it is running her temper very short. "Trying to get off the island," she answers simply. "What were we supposed to do? Grow wings and fly back to the Earth Kingdom?"

"The island?" He sounds utterly confused, and under different circumstances, Azula would find it quite entertaining.

"Yes, the island where the Eastern Air Temple is. Where we've been living since early spring. That island."

"But, it's summer now," Zuko argues. "That's months."

"Now you understand why we wanted to leave," Azula comments.

They are approaching Suki's house… well, more like Suki's hut, and Zuko's hand lands on her shoulder to stop her. He spins her around to face him. The entire time they have been talking, she has been determinedly not looking at him, but now that she is, he looks tired. Not fatigued, but weary. He looks like the twenty-year-old boy that he is. The twenty-year-old boy with the weight of a nation on his shoulders. Azula tells herself that she could have handled it better, but she sees Zuko like this and the thought clouds with doubt.

"How are you?" her repeats. "Really."

She takes a moment to decide how to answer, and finally, she replies with a swift nod, "Better."

"Better like…" he hesitates, a shadow of skepticism pulling at his features. "Healthy?"

"Better like better," she answers. Healthy is a stretch.

No, healthy is a lie.

"Good," he says after a moment. "I'm glad you're making progress. You're not… hallucinating anymore?"

"The nightmares are… not as bad." She chooses her words carefully. "The episodes are less frequent."

He nods in approval. "It seems like being away from the asylum has been good for you. Listen," he glances around like he suddenly expects someone to attack them. Paranoia. Their father had toward the end, probably a result of his killing his own father for the throne. She hopes her brother does not go the same way. It would be difficult for Mai to go through. "There are going to be a lot of people on the island for the next couple days. A lot of people who might recognize you." He sighs, and she understands. It is not paranoia. It is justified unease. "A lot of people from the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom who aren't your friends. You and Ty Lee should try to stay hidden."

"Don't worry about us," Azula answers with a smirk. "We've been able to outsmart you for years. A handful of Water and Earth peasants won't be a problem."

She steps inside the house, latching the door behind her, and watches him walk away through the window. The living room and kitchen are empty, and Azula feels a jolt of anger at the Kyoshi Warrior for leaving her unconscious friend alone.

Except that Ty Lee is not unconscious. She is sitting up nibbling on a piece of fruit when Azula enters the bedroom.

"You're awake," she comments as if she is remarking on the weather, but relief floods through her body.

Ty Lee does not answer. She merely continues to stare at the blankets, the piece of fruit held to her lips. Azula drops onto the bed beside her, brow creased in concern.

"Suki's mad at me," Ty Lee finally whispers.

She frowns, surprised. "Why would Suki be angry with you?"

"She knows we're together," the acrobat answers.

Azula recoils. "Did you tell her we were together?" Her voice is raised.

"Yes," Ty Lee squeaks. "I know I shouldn't have," she rushes to add. "Not without talking to you first. It was an accident."

The Princess stands and begins to pace. "She'll tell my brother," she mutters to herself. "That's a sure thing. That's probably where she is right now."

"I'm sorry, Azula," Ty Lee whispers. "I really didn't mean to. It just sort of… slipped out."

Azula pauses and rests and hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I don't blame you." She hesitates. "I'm relieved that you're alright."

"Aww." She feels a hand cover her own. "Were you worried about me?"

Azula grits her teeth. "Worried is a strong word."

"You _were_ ," Ty Lee sounds absolutely gleeful. "That's so cute, Azula." She tugs on Azula's hand and the Princess lowers herself the bed beside her. Ty Lee hooks two fingers under her chin and turns her head gently to the side to study her neck. "Your bruise looks better," she murmurs, running the fingers of her other hand along the discolored skin. She drops her hands into her lap. "This isn't going to be easy for me either," she says. "Suki is my best friend, and I don't even know if she'll be talking to me next time I see her."

Azula lowers her eyes to the bed, and she feels a hand brush along the side of her face. "It's okay," Ty Lee tells her. "We'll get through it together."

Lips against hers. Hands running up and down her sides. An excuse not to think about what she will say the next time she sees Zuko, what will happen when Suki inevitably confronts her. She wraps her arms around the acrobat's neck and loses herself in the kiss.

* * *

Suki does not even stop to knock before entering Mai's room, and she is about to remind the warrior about etiquette until she looks at her and sees that something is very, very wrong. Her face is streaked with tears that look like they have been hastily and not very well wiped away, and her expression is utterly lost.

"Do you know where Zuko is?" she manages, her eyes glued to the blood red carpet.

"No," Mai answers slowly, dropping the bottle of makeup she was about to apply and moving swiftly toward the woman standing in the doorway. "He went to go find Azula."

"He's talking to her?" Suki asks, meeting Mai's eyes for the first time. The warrior nods as if to reassure herself. "Good. Then maybe we'll have something to talk about when he gets back."

Mai crosses her arms and fixes her friend with an appraising look. "Care to explain?"

"Umm, I kind of wanted to wait for Zuko," Suki replies. "In case he doesn't know. He should really be the first to know."

"To know what?"

It is the most incredible timing Mai thinks she has ever seen in her life. She sincerely thought people only had timing like that in the far-fetched stories of palace drama that Azula used to try to make her believe during their days at the Royal Fire Academy.

Suki jumps and whirls around, and Zuko smiles at her. "Shouldn't you be a little harder to scare?" he asks. "Being the captain of the Royal Guard and all?"

"Jumping when something comes at you from behind is a life-saving reflex," Suki informs him.

"You're in a good mood," Mai remarks as her fiancé drops a kiss on her lips and walks over to the desk to remove his crown. They each have their own room on the airship, but their things have wound up evenly distributed between them all the same.

"She seems well," Zuko remarks in way of an answer. Mai is relieved that he finally got to see his sister. He has been increasingly stressed as each month went by with no word, regardless of how much Mai and Sokka and the Avatar reassured him that no news was good news in this case.

"Did she tell you?" Suki asks hopefully, looking up.

"Did she tell me what?" Zuko replies, distracted with the very complex task of removing the pin from his topknot.

Suki sighs and Mai can tell she is disappointed. She did not want to be the one to break this news. It only makes the future Fire Lady more intrigued.

"She's dating Ty Lee."

The pin clatters to the floor and Mai hurries to fetch it before it rolls under the bed and they have to call some unfortunate servant to crawl under there and fish it out. Zuko's good eye is comically wide. "What?"

"She's dating Ty Lee," Suki repeats. "They're a couple. That's what Ty Lee told me."

"That's what you're so upset about?" Mai raises her eyebrows. While she cannot honestly say she saw this coming, she is not particularly surprised either. She has always known that Ty Lee did not take gender into account when deciding whom to sleep with. Azula, while she does not know anything concrete, she has always had her suspicions about. The Princess did have a rather unsubtle habit of surrounding herself with stunningly gorgeous handmaidens sporting bare midriffs. They wore fewer clothes than Zuko's even, and he was a sixteen-year-old boy.

That and she has longtime suspected that Azula was harboring a poorly concealed crush on the acrobat. She first noticed it in the Earth Kingdom forests, when Azula used to make excuses for why Mai could not sleep in the middle, and she did not miss the look on the Princess' face when she told her that Ty Lee and Suki had been assigned as her bodyguards. The crush was reciprocated when they were younger. Ty Lee has told her as much. However, Mai had been very much under the impression that she had gotten over it relatively quickly when they were in prison, just like she got over her crush on Sokka when she befriended Suki.

Maybe that is why she did not anticipate this.

"Of course that's what I'm so upset about," Suki answers angrily, crossing her arms. "Ty Lee is my best friend. And Azula tortured me, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh," Mai replies. She suddenly feels like a jerk. She has been aware since her preteen years that she is not exactly a good person. She did agree to help Azula hunt down and imprison someone she knew was undeserving just because she was bored. She never killed, but she would have. She does not often feel like a jerk though. Not to her friends. Other than Azula, of course, because being a jerk is, in Mai's experience, the only kind of behavior Azula responds to.

"Look… Suki." Zuko runs a hand through his long hair nervously. "I understand why you don't like Azula, and I don't blame you. But you should try to remember that Ty Lee didn't do this just to spite you. She was probably conflicted about the relationship herself. Maybe she still is. In my experience, you can't choose who you fall in love with."

"That's right," Mai agrees. "Do you think I would have willingly chosen to spend the rest of my life with this one?" She feels Zuko shove her in the shoulder as he moves to stand next to her, his hand sliding to her waist.

"I know she still values your friendship," he continues. "Talk to her about it. Don't make any rash decisions until you've heard what she has to say." He hesitates. "And if you feel up to it, try talking to my sister too. I know I'm biased, but I think she might surprise you."

"That's not the only thing," Suki adds as Zuko frowns. "Her firebending is coming back."

* * *

Suki does not return to the house until late that evening. Azula is already lying in bed, curled up against Ty Lee, whose head is still too sore to rest against anything except the pillow. She has bathed and changed her clothes, and her wet hair drapes across Ty Lee's chest, bleeding water into the fabric. It embarrasses her, because she still feels sticky from the ocean. She woke up wearing different clothes. She has not asked who changed her.

The door to the bedroom swings open and Ty Lee feels Azula jerk awake, though she stays in place, her arm still resting lazily on the acrobat's stomach.

"We need to talk," Suki says, stopping beside the bed and crossing her arms.

Ty Lee yawns. "Can't it wait until morning?"

"I know it's late." Suki sighs. "I know what I want to say _now_. I figured it out on the way home. I'll probably forget by morning."

"Okay," Ty Lee answers, reluctantly extricating herself from the arms of her girlfriend, who simply rolls over and continues pretending to be asleep.

Suki nods and takes a seat on the edge of the narrow bed. She presses her lips together, and finally, she takes a deep breath. "Ty Lee, you're my friend—"

"You're my friend too," Ty Lee replies quickly, only realizing mid-sentence that she is interrupting.

Suki nods again before continuing. "But this is hard for me. I guarded Azula for years. I would have laid down my life for her, just like I would to protect anyone else. But that doesn't mean I don't still have nightmares about what she did to me at the Boiling Rock. That doesn't mean I don't still wake up gasping for breath some nights because I think my head is being held underwater. And that doesn't mean I'm okay with her dating my best friend."

"Suki, neither of us saw this coming." Her right hand moves to rest on Azula's side while her left clasps Suki's palm. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know," Suki sighs. "It was never about me. I'm sorry I made it about me."

"I understand why you're upset," Ty Lee adds. "And I don't blame you. But Azula and I are… we feel so right together. And she's not…" A sideways glance at the Princess. "Like she was."

"I'll believe that when I see it." The warrior shakes her head. "I want you to know that I'm still not happy about this, but I know nothing I do will change it, so I guess I'm just going to have to accept it. For now."

"Thank you." Ty Lee smiles. "You mean a lot to me, Suki. I want you to know that I would never do something I thought was going to hurt you if there was a good alternative."

"You can't choose who you fall in love with." She repeats what Zuko told her like a mantra.

"No one said anything about love," Azula grunts. She goes right back to pretending she is asleep afterwards, and Ty Lee rolls her eyes. Childish. She is dating a child.

Suki fixes Azula with an annoyed look that she does not see before turning back to Ty Lee. "I'm getting married tomorrow," she informs her. "I want you to be there. I think Zuko was right about keeping you hidden, so you'll have to stand back in the trees, but it's my wedding and… I really want you there." She stands up and straightens her skirt. "Azula can come too. If she wants." She turns toward the turned back of Princess and directs her voice toward her. "There's no need to feel obligated."

Ty Lee lays back down as her friend moves toward the door. Azula rolls back over and settles herself back around Ty Lee's body, nestling her head into the crook of her neck.

"You impressed me," Azula states as Suki's hand is on the doorknob.

"What?"

"You impressed me," she repeats. "When you were in prison. I regret continuing to torture you once I was sure you weren't going to give up any information, but I knew you knew where the Avatar was, and my father was… pressuring me." She shrugs against Ty Lee's chest, trying to keep her tone casual, and Ty Lee wraps a comforting arm around her waist. "You angered me. It made me hate you. But I also admired you because you were strong. You never wavered. And that made me hate you even more."

She shrugs again and burrows her face into Ty Lee's neck.

"Thank you for telling me that," Suki replies stiffly.

"Goodnight," Ty Lee calls as the door closes behind the warrior. She presses a kiss to the hair of the Princess. "That was big of you."

"It needed to be said," is all Azula offers in way of an explanation, and then she goes back to pretending to be asleep, and Ty Lee lets her get away with it.

* * *

Mai comes over to help Suki prepare on the morning of the wedding. Azula wraps a silk scarf from Suki's closet around her head and leaves, mumbling something about the house being too crowded, to wait on the airship with Zuko.

"So, you and Azula," Mai says, raising her eyebrows, as soon as Suki disappears into her bedroom to put on her dress.

"Uh huh," Ty Lee answers.

"How did that happen?" she asks. "I didn't think you liked her anymore."

"I didn't think I did either," Ty Lee admits. "But, Mai, we went through so much in Ba Sing Se, especially her. And when she kissed me… I don't know, it was confusing—"

"Wait, _she_ kissed _you?_ " Mai asks in disbelief. "She made the first move?"

"Yeah," Ty Lee answers. "It was our last night before we had to leave Ba Sing Se at the Firelight Fountain. I was even more shocked then you are."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mai asks. "A life with Azula is always going to be… complicated at best."

"I wouldn't have kissed her the second time if this wasn't what I wanted," Ty Lee answers. "And besides, it doesn't have to be a _life_ with Azula. People break up. Who knows where we'll be five years from now."

"People don't break up with Azula," Mai comments darkly. "Especially once her bending is strong again." Ty Lee knows that she is right, but she also knows this is the first relationship she has ever had that does not revolve around sex, and it is a pleasant change. Even if she does desperately miss the sex sometimes.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," she replies dismissively. " _If_ I get to it. Azula says she would never hurt me, and I believe her." She knows she sounds naïve, especially to someone like Mai, but Mai was not there when Azula sold her body to prevent Ty Lee from starving. Mai was not there when Azula made Ty Lee leave their bed for fear of burning her.

Mai opens her mouth to speak again, but before she can, Suki emerges from the bedroom. "How do I look?" She spins in a circle. Her forest green dress clings to all the right places, and the yellow sash shines like the sun, but Ty Lee's eyes are glued to the large headdress, and beside her, she can hear Mai trying not to laugh.

"I know," Suki sighs, whipping the contraption of wood and cloth and rope off her head. "It looks stupid. I have to wear it. It's _traditional_."

Ty Lee screws her shock into a beaming smile. "You look just like someone out of a painting." She walks toward Suki and wraps her in a hug.

Suki relaxes and slides her arms around the acrobat's waist, and Ty Lee has to admit, she has missed being hugged like this. "I'm so glad you're here." She holds out a hand toward Mai. "Come get in on this."

"That's okay," Mai replies, shaking her head. "I think I'll just watch from here."

* * *

"I don't like tea," Azula announces for what feels like the thousandth time as Zuko pushes a steaming teacup in front of her.

"Just drink it," he replies. "It's calming."

"I am calm," she snaps, and her brother looks exasperated. "I know what you want to talk to me about. Your Kyoshi Warrior told you didn't she?"

"Told me about what? You and _your_ Kyoshi Warrior?" he asks.

Azula crosses her arms. "She's a servant. Doesn't she have anything to do other than spread gossip?"

"Suki is not a servant," Zuko informs her patiently, even though this is not the first time he has told her this. "She's the captain of my guard, and she's saved my life more than once. Yours too."

Azula scowls and slides lower in her chair.

"So." the Fire Lord sits down across from her and looks awkward. "You're in a relationship."

"So I am," she answers shortly.

"I have to admit, that's not something I expected," Zuko says. "What happened?"

"What usually happens?" Azula shrugs. "I always get what I want, and I wanted her."

"Azula, if my memory serves me, you've never been very good at romance," Zuko comments. "Remember that party on Ember Island during the last year of the war?"

"I'd rather not," Azula mumbles. She had spent most of that party trying to learn how to get boys' attention in order to get Ty Lee's. It had not worked, of course. Ty Lee had spent the majority of that evening trying to decide which of the boys to slip away with, all the while, admiring some aloof daughter of a general out of the corner of her eye. The memory still makes her feel angry and inadequate.

"So, I'm going to guess you didn't seduce her with your charm." He rests his chin on his fist and stares intently across the table at her. "And Ty Lee doesn't scare easily anymore, so you couldn't have intimidated her into it."

"I kissed her," Azula states, because really that's all there is to it. "And then I waited for her to come to me." She will never admit to her brother that she had not actually expected Ty Lee to kiss her that second time, that she had completely given up by that night in Tokka and Roe's spare bedroom all those months ago.

"How long did it take?" Zuko asks. His curiosity is infuriating.

"About a week," Azula answers. "But we were running for our lives. I don't recall asking you all these meddlesome questions when you and Mai got together."

"You didn't have to," Zuko points out. "You set us up on our first date and then spied on us from behind a bush. My questions can't possibly be more meddlesome than that."

"She was my best friend, and I had to make sure you didn't screw it up," Azula explains, though she knows she sounds defensive.

"And you're my sister, and believe it or not, Ty Lee is my friend," Zuko replies. "And no offense, but I think you're a lot more likely to screw this up than I was."

"I don't know what you're talking about. As I recall, I wasn't the only one who had no luck whatsoever at that party." She smirks, eliciting a flush from her brother, to her own glee.

"Is your relationship… healthy?" He grimaces at his own wording. Untactful because Azula understands the question to mean that he thinks it might not be. "I mean, you're both happy?"

"Ty Lee didn't have to date me," Azula comments. "No one was forcing her. And I'll have you know, she was the first one to refer to us as a couple. She's the one who keeps trying to have sex with me—"

"I don't need to know about that!" Zuko cries, holding up his hand to stop her. He takes a deep breath before continuing. "It's just that your friendship wasn't exactly balanced. I thought I'd ask."

"Well, you've asked."

He nods and takes the first sip of his cooling tea. "Why didn't you tell me your firebending had returned?"

Azula's eyes widen. Their relationship is one thing. She is not surprised that Suki found out about that, but she had expected Ty Lee to have enough sense not to talk about her bending.

"I didn't want you to lock me back up." It is an honest answer, and she can tell it takes her brother by surprise. She has much more to lose if she looks like she is hiding something.

"I have absolutely no intention of doing that," Zuko replies, and _this_ takes her by surprise.

"Funny," Azula taps her chin with her index finger in mock thought. "I was under the impression that the only reason you were being so generous with my freedom was because I was harmless."

"You've never been harmless, Azula." He sighs. "No, I think the doctors have done as much as they can for you—you're clearly improving just fine without them—and I don't see a reason to throw you in prison. You're not going to take the throne from me. We both know you wouldn't have lost your bending in the first place if you were. I don't see you as a danger to the general public anymore, especially not with Ty Lee keeping an eye on you."

"So instead of sentencing me to prison, you're sentencing me to a life with her?" Azula raises her eyebrows. "Have you asked for her input on this?"

"That's what she agreed to when she took you into hiding," Zuko reminds her. "She knew you might never be able to come back. Besides, you're dating now, aren't you? I don't see the problem. If you break up, we'll have to figure out something else. I still don't really feel comfortable with the idea of leaving you completely alone."

"That seems rather constricting, doesn't it?" It is not a question. It is an observation.

"Well, you did spend almost a year trying to kill me and the Avatar and conquering what was left of the Earth Kingdom, and I'm keeping you out of prison, so no, not really." He studies her solemnly. "If anyone else had taken the throne, you would have been executed the morning after the comet."

Azula purses her lips. "Most rulers would think twice about executing a fourteen-year-old girl."

"Most fourteen-year-old girls don't win wars for power-crazed tyrants." He speaks with finality, like he knows it is the end of the conversation. Perhaps she has not given him enough credit for how well he knows her. They did grow up together, and they were friends once upon a time. Before she fled the Fire Nation, they were almost friends again.

"He would have killed me if he'd been alive when I lost my bending," she states casually, like she is remarking on a pleasant floral arrangement in the gardens. "He would have called it an honor killing. You know what the royal family used to do when the heir to the throne wasn't a firebender. He would have done it without a second thought."

Zuko studies her for a moment before answering. "I know." He would have been welcomed home as the Crown Prince with open arms, but the idea does not seem to please him at all. Azula thinks that, if it was him, it would not please her either.

* * *

Suki gets married in the evening in a clearing in the forest, surrounded by green and blue lanterns that Ty Lee thinks are supposed to represent the unity of the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. They are beautiful, but they are not very practical for seeing what is going on all the way from behind the trees.

She and Azula move into position in the late afternoon, before the guests begin their hike to the ceremony. They climb trees and wait for people to pass through the forest under them like Suki told them too. Once the seats are filled, they climb down.

Sokka arrives on his own, carrying only a lantern and wearing formal a formal, fur-lined Water Tribe robe, a while after the guests. According to Suki, the groom is supposed to spend three days before the wedding by himself in the forest. The original purpose was to prove that the he was capable of taking care of himself before he took a wife. If he didn't make it to the wedding because he had died or gotten lost or did not know how to tell him by the sun, the bride was saved from a life with a man who could not provide for her. Ty Lee thinks it is stupid and archaic, but Kyoshi Island loves its traditions, even if they do not match the progression of time.

They wait for another while before the bridal procession begins to arrive. Mai is at the lead, rolling out a thin, woven, green-brown carpet in front of her. Suki is not far behind. Ty Lee has heard from Suki that the bride walks from her house through the woods to the wedding destination, generally accompanied by an earthbender to clear a path ahead of her and her mother and sisters, but Suki does not know any earthbenders, she is an only child, and her parents died when she was young, so it is her and Mai alone. Ty Lee thinks it must have been a very quiet walk.

The ceremony itself is a short affair, probably because the guests have already waited so long for the bride and groom to arrive. Suki's sash is removed from her waist and used to bind her wrist to Sokka's. They are to remain tied to each other all night. Suki told her this was traditionally done to prevent the groom from sleeping with anyone during the reception festivities.

Ty Lee laces her fingers through Azula's as Sokka and Suki are pronounced husband and wife and finds her palms hot and sweaty. She beams up at her girlfriend and Azula refuses to meet her eye. Ty Lee wonders if the Princess has ever been to a wedding before. She wonders if the ceremony makes her feel pressured.

"I don't expect you to propose to me or anything, you know," she whispers in Azula's ear. Azula shrugs carelessly, but Ty Lee can see the crease in her forehead shallow in veiled relief.

Ty Lee and Azula cannot attend the reception. Once the guests have cleared out, following Sokka and Suki in a narrow procession that thankfully makes it unnecessary to climb into a tree again, they pick their way back through the woods and down the beach to Zuko's airship. They are spending the night in a guest bedroom, and Azula has expressed concern multiple times that her brother might decide to take off before they are awake the next morning, forcing her back into the Fire Nation and into a hospital or a prison, but Zuko has assured Ty Lee that he and Mai are planning on staying another day. Besides Suki needs her bed back tonight, though, Ty Lee thinks, that bed is so narrow she is not sure how they both manage to fit.

The reception is a ways down the beach, but they can hear the music from the airship's entrance.

"Wait," Ty Lee says, clasping Azula hand as she steps onto the ramp. "Dance with me."

The Princess turns to look at her, a deep frown twisting her lips.

"Come on," Ty Lee urges tugging playfully at her hand. "Just one song. It'll be fun."

Azula sighs and, with surprisingly little vicious mumbling under her breath, steps back off the ramp and allows Ty Lee to guide her left hand to her hip. She can feel her girlfriend shake from the hand placed on her shoulder, but Ty Lee is unsure if that is because of the cool evening breeze or if it has more to do with nerves. They danced once before, on their last night in Ba Sing Se, but they were not dating then. Ty Lee was not even aware that Azula liked her then.

The acrobat guides her partner through the steps, gently swaying back and forth, feet sinking into the sand, and she thinks this evening might have been perfect, for her at least. Azula's brow is wrinkled in concentration and Ty Lee giggles and presses a kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "Don't concentrate so hard. This is supposed to be fun."

"It's not fun if I'm not doing it correctly," Azula hisses in reply. Ty Lee sighs in exasperation because that is such an _Azula_ thing to say and steps forward, closing the gap between their bodies and resting her chin on Azula's shoulder, guiding her body through the motions at very point of contact. She takes comfort in the fact that they make it through three songs before Azula stops her.


	21. Fate Is Infuriating

For the first time in months, they are in a bed large enough to sleep without touching, but Ty Lee is still wrapped around Azula like a blanket, and she is not sure whether she feels amused or irritated.

She navigates her way out of Ty Lee's arms and rolls out of bed as the sun rises. She cannot practice her bending here on the beach. There are too many people in a close proximity who would probably love to see Kuei mount her head on a pole. She chooses a set of Fire Nation clothes and gets dressed. Before she had to flee, this bedroom was officially hers, and she is pleased to find that the pants she was measured for during her final months at the asylum before leaving the Fire Nation to live as a fugitive for months still fit in the waist.

She does not want to wake her girlfriend, so she simply lets her hair hang as she goes to seek out breakfast.

Mai is seated alone in the dining room when she arrives. She raises her eyebrows when she spots Azula stepping through the doorway. "You look more like yourself than I've seen you look in years."

"It's all those shoddy Earth Kingdom clothes," Azula explains. "It's impossible to look dignified when you're wearing something made by some farmer who's completely incompetent on a loom, and it hangs off your body like elephant rhino skin." That is not entirely what Mai means and she knows it, but she is not about to admit to her friend that she feels healthier than she has since before she locked them in the Boiling Rock because of a combination of meditation and a certain comfort that comes from being wrapped in Ty Lee's arms. If there are two things she and Mai have always scoffed at together, they are spirituality and any sort of dependency on others. They are both hypocrites now.

"I wanted to ask you about your relationship," Mai comments, and Azula sighs. She expected this—despite her stony demeanor, Mai is far too protective of Ty Lee not to question their romance—but that does not mean she is happy about it.

"You can ask," she replies magnanimously. "I will not guarantee you any answers."

"Fair enough." Mai smirks. "So tell me what it's like."

"What what's like?" Azula furrows her brow.

"Dating someone so…" Mai chooses her words carefully. "Energetic."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." The Princess recoils in confusion. "I thought she was your best friend."

"She is." Mai shrugs. "That doesn't mean I would fuck her. So what's it like?"

Azula decides not to correct the assumption that they are fucking, especially not to someone like Mai, who spent the early months of her relationship fucking her boyfriend like rabbits and then repeated when they got back together. "It's…" she struggles to find words that are accurate but do not make her seem weak or dependent. "Different."

Mai rolls her eyes. "Obviously," she scoffs in a way that makes her sound much older than she is. "Being in a relationship is always _different_ from being single."

"I'll admit that it's pleasant," Azula adds grudgingly.

"I assumed," Mai replies dryly. "You're not the type to do things you don't find pleasant."

Azula sighs in annoyance. "If there's something specific you're waiting for me to tell you, I have absolutely no idea what it is, and I don't plan on expending the mental resources to figure it out on my own."

"I just don't understand how the two of you work," Mai explains. "You're so realistic and pragmatic, and she's so sickeningly upbeat. You're both completely insufferable. How do you not kill each other?"

"We balance out," Azula answers with a shrug. "It's simple really. She makes me go out and do things with her and I keep her from wondering off when she sees something shiny." She leans across the table to pluck a jar of jam from in front of the future Fire Lady. "Personally, I've never understood you and Zuko. You're both so bleak and angsty. I would think you'd just drive each other into an endless depression."

"What do you mean you've never understood us?" Mai asks in obvious confusion and unbridled skepticism. "You set us up in the first place."

"Not understanding it doesn't mean I couldn't recognize that there was something there," Azula explains. "I'd have to have been an idiot not to see that you've been in love with him since we were nine. Even Ty Lee knew. And we both know I'm not an idiot. Besides, I fully expected your relationship to end in a murder suicide, which would have left me first in line for the throne. The way I saw it, it was a win-win."

Mai scowls at her, but Azula is saved from whatever snappy comeback she is brewing by a voice that is much too enthusiastic for this time of the morning.

"Good morning!"

A pair of arms thread themselves around Azula's shoulders, and before she knows what has happened she is being pulled into a deep kiss.

"Last night was so great, wasn't it?" Ty Lee asks, pulling away to reveal Mai grimacing and crinkling her nose like she has just been scarred for life. Well, Azula thinks in sadistic pleasure, now she understands how they felt when she and Zuko made out rather loudly in every room in the palace with a dark corner when Zuko first returned from his banishment. At least she and Ty Lee do not look like they are trying to fit each other's heads into their mouths.

"We had to hike to the ceremony," Mai groans. "Why can't everyone just have their weddings in town like we do at home. I did enough hiking for one lifetime while we were hunting the Avatar. I have blisters. I'm about to be royalty. I shouldn't have blisters."

"At least you didn't have to watch from the woods," Azula argues. "We had to arrive an hour before everyone else and sit in trees."

"I thought it was beautiful," Ty Lee interjects before her friends start fighting over who had it worse. "And we didn't get to go to the reception of course, but the music was wonderful," she adds. "We could hear it from here." She drops onto the floor beside Azula and helps herself to a generous amount of rice. She too is wearing a set of Azula's clothes, but they are a little long in the torso and legs and a little tight in the hips and chest, showcasing Azula's height and lack of curves when compared to Ty Lee.

"It was on the beach," Mai complains. "I got sand in my shoes." Ty Lee rolls her eyes. The beach does not seem very practical to Azula either, but Ty Lee apparently sees some sort of charm in it. She supposes it was nice, dancing in the sand with the sound of the waves in the background and the moon in the sky, but she will never admit that, least of all to Mai.

* * *

"Congratulations, Suki!" Ty Lee exclaims when Suki makes an appearance on the airship in the late afternoon. She throws her arms around her friend so hard that Azula half expects them to go toppling to the floor in the hallway outside the bedroom.

"Thanks," Suki laughs as they let go of each other. She looks happy. Happy enough not to care when Ty Lee backs up and laces her fingers through Azula's. "Listen, I have a plan to get the two of you off the island."

"Not that you mind having us here, of course," Azula mutters, her voice dripping in sarcasm. Ty Lee elbows her sharply in the ribs.

Suki either ignores the comment or misses it completely. "You can stow away in the cargo hold of one of the supply ships when it sets sail for Gaoling tonight," she explains. "Aang can take you wherever you want to go from there on Appa."

Azula bites her lip and side eyes Ty Lee, who seems to get the message. "Umm, Suki," she replies. "We really appreciate that, but is there any way we can get off this island without taking a ship?"

"You know there's not," Suki answers slowly, narrowing her eyes. "Why? What's wrong with a ship?"

"Umm…" Ty Lee glances back at Azula questioningly, but does not wait for her response before answering. "Azula gets seasick. I kind of promised her we wouldn't take any more boats."

"Oh…" Suki's eyes travel to the Princess for the first time since she entered the room. Azula suspects she has been handling the relationship by trying to pretend it does not exist. "Well, Aang can't take you from here. It's too populated. Someone could see you leave with him. He's the Avatar. He's supposed to be neutral. The Earth King can't know he's helping Zuko hide you." She holds her palms up. "I don't know what else to tell you, Ty."

Ty Lee turns to look at the Princess. She feels a second hand clasp hers. "It's… it's not a very long trip, Azula," Ty Lee informs her reassuringly. "It's just overnight." When she does not receive a response, she turns back to Suki. "That'll be fine. We'll make it work. Thank you, Suki." She heaves a long sigh. "I really have missed you, you know?"

"I've missed you too," the warrior replies. "I love Mai, but she isn't exactly the best conversationalist."

Ty Lee beams at her. "I knew you guys would be friends if you just gave each other a chance."

Azula feels a pang of guilt, but as Suki leaves the room, she covers it with anger. "I can't believe you told her," she comments, wrenching her hand from the acrobat's.

"Told her what?" Ty Lee cries. "About your sea sickness? I just thought if she knew there was a good reason we didn't want to take a ship, she might have another idea."

"You could have told her you were the one who was sea sick," Azula snaps, crossing her arms and drifting away from Ty Lee, toward the window.

"No I couldn't. We've been on a lot of ships together, Azula. We were bunkmates. She knows I don't get sea sick." She hears Ty Lee approach her.

"You could have told her it was because we've been shipwrecked twice in the past few months," Azula suggests. "It doesn't seem unreasonable that after nearly dying multiple times, we might not want to get on another boat."

There is a moment of silence before Ty Lee speaks again. "I didn't think of that. How many times do I have to tell you I'm not as smart as you?" She pauses. "What's the big deal, anyway? It's not like Suki's one of your generals and you need to look strong so she'll listen to you. We've chased you through the halls of the asylum in the middle of delusional episodes. I don't think she cares that you get sea sick."

Azula knows that she is right, but cannot bring herself to admit it out loud. Ty Lee rests a hand on her shoulder and seems to understand anyway. Gently, she turns the Princess to face her, looks at her with concern in her eyes. It is infuriating how weak they all think she is. How fragile. She conquered the best defended city in the world overnight once, conquered it without shedding a single drop of blood, a feat that her war hero of an uncle could not accomplish in six hundred days.

Ty Lee pulls her into a tight hug, and Azula is about to push her away and storm into the privacy of the washroom when she feels warm breath on her ear. "You look hurt."

Her body is shaking in an effort not to cry. Ty Lee has seen her cry before on several occasions, but every time, it feels like another chink in her armor. "I have so little to cling to. They already know I'm crazy and I can't firebend, and now I can't even get on a ship."

"Suki won't tell anyone," Ty Lee murmurs as she rubs circles into her girlfriend's back. "And I promise, she doesn't think you're weak."

"I don't care," Azula shrugs, trying desperately to inject some strength back into her voice, because maybe Suki does not think she is weak, but Ty Lee certainly will if she keeps up this behavior.

The acrobat's hands still, and Azula feels her take a deep breath. Ty Lee pulls back so that she can look into the other girl's eyes. "Azula, I just…" She takes another breath, and Azula frowns. She seems to be very nervous all of a sudden, and Azula does not like it at all. "I just want you to know that… that I love you." She withdraws her hands completely from Azula's body and twists them anxiously in front of her. "Not like I love Mai. I know that… probably doesn't really help that much, but I just… thought you should know how loved you are."

Ty Lee is not meeting her eyes. In fact, she looks like she might be about to flee. In a state of mild shock, Azula cannot seem to make any words come out of her mouth to stop her, so instead, she cups her hands on either side of Ty Lee's jaw and smashes their lips together with force sufficient to make the acrobat yelp in surprise and possibly pain. She recovers quickly, and then one of her hands works its way through Azula's hair, fingers tangling. The other caresses the base of her neck. When Azula breaks them apart, Ty Lee gasps for breath and Azula covers her face in kisses, her cheeks, her forehead, the bridge of her nose, her chin, and then strings them down her neck until she comes to a pulse point, where she latches her lips, like Ty Lee did for her back in their bed at the air temple.

Ty Lee moans, actually _moans_ , and her hands slip under the hem of Azula's shirt, smooth up and down her newly-toned back and then inch around her sides toward her breasts. When Ty Lee's thumb grazes over a nipple, Azula releases her girlfriend's head and pulls away. Ty Lee looks confused and hurt and is clearly trying to hide it as Azula backs up to lean against the wall.

"It's nothing you did," the Princess informs her coldly, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to look at her, gazing over her shoulder and out the window instead.

She does not tell Ty Lee she loves her back. She cannot. Even if she thinks that maybe she does.

* * *

Ty Lee thought they were finally going to do it this time. She really did. That had not been her motive for telling Azula she loved her of course, and she had meant everything she said, but she will not pretend the possibility of the confession escalating to sex did not cross her mind. Waiting is much harder than Ty Lee anticipated, but she grits her teeth and tells herself to look at things from Azula's point of view, and when she does, she is horrified at herself for her impatience.

Zuko is in the lounge with a cup of tea when she enters the room. She releases a breath in frustration—she was hoping either to be alone or to find Mai—but she takes a seat across from him and accepts the steaming teacup he offers her.

He takes one look at her deep frown and immediately asks, "What did my sister do?"

"She just so… she's just so… ughhh," Ty Lee groans, balling her fingers into fists so tight her knuckles turn white.

"That's a sentiment I can relate to," Zuko comments, taking a sip of tea to prevent himself from laughing.

"I mean, one minute she was kissing me and I thought we were going to—well, never mind, I shouldn't have thought that, and you probably don't want to hear it anyway—but it _seemed_ like she was really into it, and then all of a sudden, it was like she didn't even want me there," she rages.

"Azula's always been pretty hot and cold," Zuko agrees.

Ty Lee laughs mirthlessly. "That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard. But she's been more hot lately, or at least a little bit warmer…" She trails off. "It just always seems like everything's fine, and then all of a sudden she's mad at me and I don't even know what I did." Her eyes drift away from her girlfriend's brother, around the room, until he speaks again.

"I don't know how you do it." He is shaking his head, his eyebrows raised like he is impressed.

Ty Lee shrugs helplessly. "Sometimes I don't know either, but I do it, and usually I'm glad I do it."

"I am too," Zuko replies, taking another sip of his tea. "She seems so much better than she was when she left. I can't help but think that part of it is because of you."

"It was actually mostly because of this guru we met at the air temple," Ty Lee mumbles. Zuko cocks his head to the side but apparently decides not to ask for details.

"It's good for her to have someone by her side who she knows doesn't have some sort of other motive," he continues. "I don't think she's ever had that before."

"I'm there because you asked me to protect her," Ty Lee points out. "That's another motive."

"But you're not being paid for it," Zuko answers. "You could have left her as soon as you were out of the Fire Nation; I wouldn't have punished you, but you stayed even though you could be killed if you're caught. Azula's smart. She knows that."

"She might think _I_ don't," Ty Lee replies, though she knows Azula does not underestimate her intelligence as much as she pretends to. Zuko does not respond immediately, even though Ty Lee thinks he knows that too.

"Anyway, I know it's weird to thank someone for being your sister's girlfriend," he finally continues. "But thank you. I know it means a lot to her, even if she doesn't show it. I think we all kind of expected her to be alone for the rest of her life. It's good for her to experience this. Even if, you know… it doesn't last." He grimaces and looks away, and Ty Lee thinks he is thinking the same thing she is, that no one wants to be anywhere near a break-up that involves Princess Azula.

"I love her," Ty Lee admits to the first person she has told who is not the Princess herself. "And I told her that, and I didn't expect her to say it back or anything; I'm not stupid. I just wish…" She does not finish the sentence because, in all honesty, she does not know exactly what she wishes. That her relationship was easier? That Azula was less difficult?

"You wish she knew how to love a little better?" Zuko supplies, and Ty Lee realizes that he is exactly right. "I know what you mean. Sometimes when I visited her in the asylum, I couldn't tell if she was glad I was there or if she was wishing her window opened so she could shut my head in it."

Ty Lee raises an eyebrow. "That's awfully specific."

"She threatened to do it to me once." He suppresses a laugh. "The point is, I knew she wanted me to come, sometimes at least, but she never showed it. It would have been nice if she had, but," he sighs and shakes his head, "then she just wouldn't be Azula, would she?"

"No," Ty Lee sighs. "I guess not."

"I understand the desire for a simpler love life," Zuko continues. "I know I wish I had a simpler family life. But that's just not what we signed up for when we decided to love her."

Ty Lee laughs halfheartedly. "We must enjoy pain."

"Speak for yourself." Zuko holds his hands up. "She's my family. I got stuck with her. You're the one who's here by choice."

* * *

"I know you spoke to my brother earlier," Azula says with an accusation on her voice as they are packing the clothes from the wardrobe that evening. They are leaving on a ship in mere hours, and while they are still going to be walking into Republic City as refugees, at least they will have more than the clothes on their backs.

"Yeah." Ty Lee shrugs. "So? He's your brother. We were going to talk eventually."

"About me," Azula states icily.

"Well, yeah," Ty Lee answers, because it should be completely obvious. She is the only thing they have in common anymore. Her and a war in which they were on different sides. To anyone except for Azula, it _would_ be obvious, but the Princess just sneers and shakes her head.

"Exchanging tactics on how to keep me under control?"

"No, nothing like that," Ty Lee assures her, dropping the shirt she is holding and spinning her girlfriend around to face her. "We can just relate now. That's all." Azula scowls and begins to fold clothing more violently than is necessary, and Ty Lee knows she has not let this go. She sighs. "Listen, Azula. I was frustrated and confused about what happened earlier. That's what we talked about. I thought Zuko might have some insight, since he's known you for your entire life."

"He missed three years," Azula points out. "The three most important years." Ty Lee does not respond. "What did he say?" Azula asks after a moment, peering at Ty Lee out of the corner of her eye, her interest clearly peaked, though she is trying to appear as disengaged as ever.

"Pretty much just that if you made sense, you wouldn't be you," the acrobat answers with a nervous giggle.

"Well, he wasn't lying," Azula decides, turning her attention back to the pair of pants in her hands. Ty Lee is certain that Azula has never folded her own clothing before, but, all things considered, she is not doing a terrible job. Ty Lee supposes it is not exactly a difficult skill to pick up and Azula is a remarkably fast learner.

"We both love you, Azula," Ty Lee adds. "It's just that… well… please don't take this the wrong way, but you're not the easiest person to love. It's nice to have someone to talk to who knows what that's like."

"How nice that you and my brother could find some common ground." Her tone tells Ty Lee that she has, in fact, taken it the wrong way. Ty Lee sighs and wonders why she even made that comment. Perhaps because she wanted the Princess to understand, for once, where she was coming from. She should have known it would be fruitless.

"Azula, why did you stop us earlier?" the acrobat asks. She casts aside the pile of clothing waiting to be folded and sits down on the bed. "We've gone farther than that before. A lot farther. I wouldn't have tried anything unless you told me it was okay. You know that, right?"

"I didn't feel like it," Azula answers resolutely. "That's all."

Ty Lee narrows her eyes. "It sure seemed like you felt like it when you were sucking on my neck." Azula drops her eyes from the skirt she is folding and Ty Lee's face softens. She reaches to take on of the Princess' hands in her own. "What changed?"

"Nothing, Ty Lee. I decided I didn't want to. Just drop it." She looks up to meet her girlfriend's eyes, and her expression is almost pleading. It is not a look Ty Lee has seen on the face of Princess Azula before, and she does not like it.

"Azula, you can tell me," Ty Lee whispers, squeezing the hand clasped in her own. "Please tell me."

Azula's shoulders seem to deflate. "I see how you pity me," she mutters almost so quietly that Ty Lee does not hear her.

"Pity you?" the acrobat repeats in confusion. "I don't pity you—"

"Yes you do," Azula argues. "Every time I have to stop us, you pity me. I hate it. I never want to see _that_ on your face directed at _me_ again. I don't need it. I am not _weak_ , you know."

"I know," Ty Lee answers, her voice distant as she thinks back to the times they have almost had sex. Does she pity Azula? Well, yes, but she thought she had been doing an okay job of hiding it. Princess Azula, the conqueror of Ba Sing Se does not need anyone's pity. Ty Lee knows that. It is just that sometimes it is hard not to separate Princess Azula, the conqueror of Ba Sing Se from the girl she holds after nightmares.

"Then act like it," Azula snaps. "I don't need to be reminded of how disappointed you are. I'm perfectly aware."

Ty Lee opens her mouth to say that she is not disappointed, but it would be a lie, and they both know it, so she closes her mouth again.

"See," Azula adds in a deadly whisper. "You won't even try to deny it."

"I'm sorry, Azula," Ty Lee murmurs, dropping her eyes as she feels her face flush.

"I told you." The Princess sounds furious, and Ty Lee bites her lip. "I don't want your pity." She growls, deep in her throat. "This is humiliating. I never should have told you." She throws the skirt into the bag, and it lands in a crumpled ball. Ty Lee picks it back out and begins to refold it over her lap.

"I know. I'm sorry," she repeats. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Do I look like I care what you _meant_ to do?" Azula sneers. "Results, Ty Lee. That's what matters in this world. Intentions mean nothing." She sees her girlfriend wince when she finishes the sentence, and she thinks it is because those words sound like they could have come straight from the mouth of former Fire Lord Ozai.

They pack the rest of their things in silence, and Ty Lee does not understand how telling Azula that she loves her could have turned out this badly.

* * *

They meet Suki on the docks just after midnight. Zuko looks very young without his Fire Lord's robes. Azula has not seen him in commoners' clothes since the day of his coronation when he was sixteen. He had come to her room in the palace that morning—her room at the asylum was still being prepared—to ask her if she wanted to be a part of it and had almost gotten his hair caught on fire. Azula had forgotten how undignified he looks without his robes and crown.

"Aang will meet you just outside of Goaling," Suki reminds them. "Walk a couple of miles outside the city and find a clearing. He'll be able to spot you from the sky. From there, he'll take you wherever you want."

"Any thoughts on where you might go next?" Zuko asks pleasantly.

Azula crosses her arms. "I'm not sure how that's any of your business, but I'm sure your friend, the Avatar will tell you anyway." Her brother briefly looks annoyed, but then, to Azula's fury, he smiles.

"I'll miss you both!" Ty Lee flings herself at Mai and then at Suki.

"Be careful," Mai replies, patting her awkwardly on the back, and Azula sees her friend's eyes flit to her.

"We'll see each other again," Suki promises, wrapping Ty Lee in another tight hug. Azula rolls her eyes. They are both so soft. Perhaps this is why she always felt she had much more in common with Mai and why Ty Lee was so eager to join the Kyoshi Warriors. She always was rather out of place among Azula and Mai. Still, Azula cannot help but feel a pang of jealousy as the Kyoshi Warrior clutches her girlfriend to her.

She feels a hand on her shoulder, and when she turns her head, her brother is standing beside her. "Look, I know you're not into feelings…" he rubs the back of his neck. "But it's been nice having you around the past couple of days."

Azula smirks. "You just can't live without me, can you?"

"You can imagine my confusion when I realized that," he replies dryly. "Just watch your back, okay? I'd like to bring you home at some point. Preferably alive." He draws her into a hug that she tolerates by scowling and making her body as stiff as possible.

"Try not to drive our nation into ruin, brother." She pats the side of his face so roughly that he winces.

She turns to Mai, who has stepped away from Ty Lee and Suki, probably to avoid being pulled into an undesirable group hug.

"Mai," Azula nods to her.

The future Fire Lady steps forward and plants a hand on her shoulder. "You be careful with her." She jerks her head toward Ty Lee.

Azula folds her arms. "And here I was thinking you actually wanted to say goodbye to _me_. How very foolish of me."

"Why?" Mai asks. "Neither of us like to do that kind of thing. Why put ourselves through that when no one is going to get anything out of it?"

"You make a good point," Azula admits. "You always were pragmatic, Mai. It is exactly why I kept you around all those years."

"And because Ty Lee and I were the only people who were willing to subject ourselves to your every whim without being able to do anything about it," Mai points out, and Azula frowns at her. "Besides," she shrugs. "It's not like I'm worried. We both know you wouldn't let someone as weak as the Earth King take you down."

"Well, you're right about that," the Princess agrees.

"I hate to say this," Suki calls, finally pulling away from Ty Lee. "But the crew will be arriving to board the ship pretty soon. It's time to go."

"Okay," Ty Lee sighs. She picks their bag up off the dock and tries to slip her fingers through Azula's, but she pulls her hand away. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the acrobat's shoulders slacken. Azula almost feels bad for her, because she looks so hurt and so confused, but her anger at the other girl overpowers it.

"Come on, Azula," Ty Lee mumbles, starting up the ramp ahead of her, her head hanging. "Let's get settled in."

Azula looks back out over the people on the dock, Zuko waving good-naturedly, Mai with her arms crossed and her face stony, Suki frowning slightly and glancing back toward town every few seconds, and then she turns her back to them with a toss of her hair and follows her girlfriend onto the ship.


	22. Fate Is Troubling

The bucket drops in front of Azula with a clatter. "I found you that," Ty Lee remarks gently as she leans against the wall and slides to the floor beside the Princess.

They have been on the ship for several hours and Azula is curled on the floor behind a box in the cargo hold, squeezing her eyes shut and desperately trying not to be sick. They cannot go onto the deck this time because there are sailors working.

_"On overnight supply runs, the sailors don't sleep," Ty Lee informed her just before she left to find something for Azula to vomit into. "Otherwise, what would be the point of having sailors?"_

Azula pulls herself into a sitting position and slumps over the bucket. She can feel hands gathering her hair, twisting it and tucking it into the collar of her shirt so it will not get in the way. A hand absently makes its way to her back and rubs absently between her shoulder blades. Azula is still angry at Ty Lee, but she feels too sick and too exhausted to bat her hand away, so she merely enjoys the feeling of being comforted.

They sit in silence for a while, and then Ty Lee speaks. "You were right."

"I'm right about a lot of things," Azula replies, though she is fairly certain she knows to what the acrobat is referring.

"I pitied you, even though you told me not to," Ty Lee explains. Azula looks up at her in surprise to find that she is staring down at the hand still in her lap. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"You're just realizing that now?" she asks with less than the amount of venom she was aiming for.

"I know," Ty Lee answers. "I should have listened to you in the first place. It's just that I wouldn't wish what you're going through on anybody, and I just…" She sighs. "I just feel bad for you."

"Well, that's not helpful," Azula snaps.

"But I admire you too," Ty Lee continues. "Because I can't imagine going through everything you've gone through and still being sane."

Azula laughs mirthlessly. "Well, as the doctors kept reminding me, my sanity is only hanging by a thread."

Ty Lee lays a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Not anymore. I'm so proud of how well you're doing."

"Did you really have so little faith in me?" Azula asks, attempting to use her anger to mask the fact that it is a serious question.

"Well, you just…" Ty Lee scrunches up her face, trying to think of a way to phrase her answer that does not sound offensive. "You really weren't good, Azula, and I'm not a doctor. I didn't think I could help you get better."

"I didn't need your help," Azula mutters, feeling increasingly nauseous, lowering her head into the bucket.

"No, you needed Guru Pathik's," Ty Lee agrees. "Listen, Azula, I'm sorry I keep doing the wrong thing, but it's not because I'm not trying. I've never had a relationship that wasn't just based on sex before. We're new at this together. But I love you so much, okay? And I just want to help."

Azula is saved from responding to Ty Lee's sentiment by the bile rising up her throat. She heaves into the bucket, tears streaming down her face. Vomiting is so undignified, but Ty Lee does not seem to care as she leans over to hold Azula's hair away from her face. She produces a discolored rag that Azula has never seen before and uses it to wipe her mouth when she is finished. It is a level of care that the Princess has never experienced before, and she ducks her head back into the bucket to hide the flush she feels rising to her face.

Ty Lee's hand resumes its motions on her back, and Azula feels like she should say something. "You are an exemplary girlfriend usually," she comments without lifting her head from the bucket. Her hand gropes on the metal floor of the cargo hold until its finds Ty Lee's, and she laces their fingers together.

Ty Lee brushes a stray lock of hair behind Azula's ear and presses her free hand to her girlfriend's sweaty face to feel for a temperature. "You don't have a fever. Do you think you can sleep?"

Azula sighs and shakes her head. "Closing my eyes makes it worse."

"That's okay," the acrobat murmurs. "We'll just stay up then. We can talk. It'll be fun."

Azula highly doubts that anything about tonight will be fun, but she nods because she does not have the energy to argue.

"Let's talk about what we want to do when we get to Republic City," Ty Lee suggests. "I'll go first. I want to go see a show. Something with acrobats. And I want to go to a restaurant. We'll have to save up, of course, but I'll get a job. I hear they pay better in Republic City than in Ba Sing Se. I bet we'll have enough for two meals a day and everything. Okay, your turn, Azula. What do you want to do?"

Azula grits her teeth and wishes that Ty Lee would not make her speak, but she knows her girlfriend is doing her best to keep her distracted, so she plays along. "I want to go out with you," she answers. "Not dancing," she adds quickly, "But I want to take you out."

Ty Lee claps her hands together, and Azula winces at the noise as it echoes through the haul of the ship. "This is perfect. We can do my things and your thing all in one night. And I think we should get a pet," she adds, almost as an afterthought. "Like maybe a cat or something."

"That seems irresponsible when we know we might have to flee at a moment's notice," Azula points out.

Ty Lee sighs dramatically. "Fine, but if we can't get a cat, we're going to the park to feed the turtleducks every week. I'm holding you to that. I need some animals in my life. And we're going to feed them the right way, not with rocks like you used to do when we were little."

"That way is more fun," Azula argues halfheartedly. It is more to irritate her girlfriend than anything.

"Ughh," Ty Lee groans. "It wasn't fun for anyone but you. You were probably hurting them. I almost cried every time."

"You can be so soft sometimes," Azula mutters. "Still, if you only _almost_ cried, at least that makes you stronger than Zuko."

"We're feeding the turtleducks every week and we're doing it with bread and that's all I'm going to say about it," Ty Lee says with finality. Despite herself, Azula likes this post-war Ty Lee who will stand up to her, even if her life was much easier when she could use intimidation to bend her friend to her will. It makes things interesting in a way that she did not think she would like but finds that she does.

"Fine," Azula answers. "Now, be quiet. Your voice is making me sick."

Ty Lee does not reply, but her hands return to Azula's back and hair as another wave of nausea overcomes her.

* * *

They arrive in port at Gaoling before the sun comes up. Nearly half a day of being sick has left Azula shaky and weak. Ty Lee pulls her to her feet and they sneak off the ship as the sailors are hauling boxes.

"We should get out of town before sunrise," Ty Lee whispers, clasping Azula's cold, sweaty hand in hers. "I know we were never in Gaoling, but I don't want to take any chances, and we are wearing Fire Nation clothes."

Azula nods mutely, but then she stumbles and has to catch herself on a waterspout as they cross the town square.

"Azula, are you feeling dizzy?" Ty Lee asks, crossing her arms. It sounds like an accusation when it comes out of her mouth, because it is. Of course, Azula would not tell her if she was not yet well enough to walk miles through the woods. Of course, Azula would try to power through it, even when she feels as though she is about to fall over.

The Princess hesitates, and then slowly nods. Ty Lee sighs and shakes her head. "I would say, I can't believe you didn't tell me, but that wouldn't be true." She surveys the square for a moment before adding, "Wait here. I'm going to find you something to eat. Sit down."

Azula obediently sinks to the ground, and it terrifies her girlfriend. Azula never does anything anyone else asks her to, unless that anyone is her father. Sometimes Azula does not do things she was already planning on doing if someone asks her to do it, just on principle.

Ty Lee searches the square frantically for something edible and relatively nutritious that she can put in Azula's stomach, hoping desperately that she will not have to pull anything out of the trash. It has been months since either of them had to consider eating trash, and Ty Lee would like to keep that streak going as long as possible. She finds some sort of red berries growing in a front garden that do not match the description of any of the poisonous berries she learned about when she was in the Earth Kingdom the first time, and a cooked slice of meat lying on a plate in the grass in front of a house that Ty Lee guesses is meant for the family's pet. She feels marginally guilty about taking it, but, she glances back at her shivering girlfriend, Azula needs it more.

She hurries back to where the Princess is sitting against the water sprout and drops the berries and the slice of meat into her lap. "Eat."

Azula experimentally pops one of the berries into her mouth. Ty Lee sits beside her, one hand resting on her back and the other on her knee, as she eats, slowly at first, but then shoving the food into her mouth like she is about to starve to death.

"Feeling better?" Ty Lee asks when she finishes. The sun is beginning to rise, and they really need to be on their way into the forest. It could take them hours to find a clearing far enough outside the city that no one will see Appa land. "You weren't like this after we got off the first boat? We were on that one for almost a week. What happened?"

"I don't know," Azula answers with a shrug. She still sounds tired, but her voice is stronger now.

"Maybe you just didn't eat enough yesterday," Ty Lee suggests, taking Azula's hand and leading her down a street that looks like it leads to the exterior of the city. They follow it as it narrows, as cobblestones become dirt and the houses lining the path are replaced with trees. They are both too exhausted to make conversation, so the two walk in silence for over an hour until they come to a river.

"This is perfect," Ty Lee comments. "We'll just follow the river away from the road a little bit, and then we'll wait."

They break from the path and walk along the river bank listening to the calm ripple of the water. Ty Lee reluctantly removes her hand from Azula's to climb over rocks and old tree trunks.

"This is far enough," Azula says when they come to a fork in the river. It is the first unsolicited comment she has made all morning and it comes as a relief.

"Okay," Ty Lee agrees. "Come on. Let's rest."

They find a spot that is far enough from the trees that they will be visible from the sky but not so close to the river that the ground is muddy. Ty Lee sits and tugs on Azula's hand until she collapses into her lap. She lolls her head against Ty Lee's shoulder and the acrobat brushes the hair off her forehead and presses her lips against Azula's temple. "Try to go to sleep, okay? You'll feel better when you wake up."

She feels Azula nod against her collar bone, and then, to her surprise, a kiss is being pressed to her neck.

"I suppose I should thank you, Ty Lee."

If she had not heard it herself, the acrobat would not have believed it. She looks down at the girl falling asleep in her arms and tells herself that it is only because Azula is not feeling well. Things will never change that much.

* * *

"Is she okay?" Aang asks as soon as he lands. His eyes are focused on Azula, slumped against Ty Lee's body, head resting against the acrobat's neck, frowning in her sleep.

"Yeah," Ty Lee replies. "She's just tired. We didn't sleep on the ship." Gently, she jostles Azula with her shoulder to wake her. Azula groans and attempts to roll over in Ty Lee's arms. "Azula, we have to go," Ty Lee tells her. "The Avatar's here."

"The Avatar?" Azula cries, sitting up so suddenly that her forehead collides with Ty Lee's nose.

"Oww!" Ty Lee exclaims, recoiling and throwing the Princess off her lap, clutching her face with both hands. "Azula!"

She blinks back her tears. Azula is staring at her with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. The scene would be comical if there was not a sharp pain radiating through Ty Lee's face.

"Let me see it," Aang says, taking a step toward her, but Azula holds her hand out in front of his legs, nearly tripping him.

" _I'll_ do this," she announces. She crawls across the ground to where Ty Lee is huddled and pulls her hands away from her face. "You're bleeding," she pronounces, as if Ty Lee cannot taste the metallic liquid in her mouth, as if there is not a sticky red liquid oozing between her fingers.

"Here, take this!" Aang suggests, pulling the sash from his robe.

Azula shakes her head furiously. "I don't need your help, Avatar. I can take care of my girlfriend myself." She looks around, spots the bag with their clothing in it, and lunges for it.

"Azula, no," Ty Lee argues when the Princess tries to hand a silk shirt to her. "We're going to need those. And they're expensive. It's not like we can just buy new ones when we get there."

"We're supposed to be refugees," Azula replies. "Blood will make it look more authentic."

"I am not wearing bloody clothes," Ty Lee insists. She holds her hand out towards Aang. "Give me the sash."

She snatches it from Aang's outstretched arm and stuffs a wad of the fabric up her nose. Azula is scowling at the ground in front of her, a mixture of anger and hurt in her expression. "It's okay," Ty Lee tells her, standing up and gesturing for her girlfriend to do the same. "I'm not upset."

"I could have taken care of you," Azula replies.

"I know," Ty Lee assures her. She wraps her arm through the Princess' elbow like she used to do when they walked through the streets of Ba Sing Se together. "Get the bag of clothes."

"I got it," Aang calls, and with a gust of air, the bag launches almost gracefully into Appa's saddle.

"Show off," Azula mutter resentfully.

Ty Lee nudges her in the ribs. "You're one to talk."

"So where are we going?" Aang asks once they have climbed up the bison's tail, Ty Lee with surprisingly little trouble given that she was still holding the piece of fabric to her nose. She attributes it to the year she spent in the circus.

"We're going to Republic City, Avatar," the Princess declares regally. "Preferably this century. How fast can this thing go?" Ty Lee drops her face into her palm and then squeals with pain as the bridge of her nose collides with her hand. Azula's arm is around her waist at once.

" _Appa_ will do his best," Aang answers. Ty Lee can tell he is exerting effort to keep his voice level.

"He was faster than our drill," Ty Lee adds quietly. She is gingerly clutching her nose, giving her voice the nasally quality it usually has when she is sick.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Our drill was slower than a snail sloth. Speed wasn't the point. This beast, on the other hand…"

Ty Lee can see the Avatar taking calming breaths at the rains.

"You're feeling better," she observes, hoping that the subject change will defuse the quickly building tension.

Azula shrugs her shoulders. "I suppose."

The acrobat cocks her head to the side. "You didn't notice?"

"I was a little concerned with other things." Azula gestures to her face.

"Aww," Ty Lee cries. "You were _worried_ about me!"

"Shhh!" Azula's eyes flit toward the Avatar, and Ty Lee can see relief wash over her face when she realizes he has not turned to look at them. She looks like she is struggling with an internal battle, opening and closing her mouth several times before finally speaking again. "I may have been slightly concerned. There was blood running down your face."

Ty Lee shakes her head at her. "You don't have to rationalize it. It's okay to be worried about your girlfriend. I worry about you all the time. It's completely normal."

"But you actually care about other people," Azula points out. The idea that Azula does not is blatantly untrue, but Ty Lee chooses not to correct her. It is a delusion she clings to to make herself feel strong. "And I have never been _normal_. I'm extraordinary."

Ty Lee simply scoots closer to her girlfriend, leaning against the side of her body. She feels the arm around her waist tighten.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Azula comments, and Ty Lee knows that is the closest thing to an apology she is going to get, but she finds it does not bother her because the concern with which the Princess is looking at her causes her heart to rush and her face to heat.

"I really want to kiss you right now," she whispers in Azula's ear. "But there's still blood in my mouth." It is not the sexiest thing she has ever told someone. In fact, it is not even close, and Azula responds by pulling away. At first, Ty Lee thinks that she has ruined the moment, if they were even having one, but then Azula cups her face in her hands and, careful to avoid bumping her nose, lays a string of kisses along her hairline, from the center of her forehead all the way to her ear. "Is that close enough?"

"I love you," Ty Lee breathes in the way of an answer, her voice saturated with emotion. She has said it once and now she cannot stop. She feels as if she will never be able to say it enough.

"Mmhm," is Azula's eloquent reply, and Ty Lee tries not to feel disappointed.

"You guys make a really great couple," Aang comments. He has still not turned around, and he seems completely oblivious to what he has interrupted. Azula growls, but Ty Lee lays and hand on her arm and her shoulders slacken.

* * *

When they land for the night, Azula leads Ty Lee to the nearby river and uses Aang's ruined sash to mop the blood off her face. Ty Lee swishes her mouth out with water to rid it of the taste of blood and pulls Azula into the kiss she has been waiting for since that afternoon, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck and pressing their bodies together. It takes a moment for Azula's hands to find their way to Ty Lee's body, but finally they rest on her hips. Azula's hands do not twitch nervously the way they used to at the beginning of Ty Lee and Azula's relationship, but they are still rather tense and they do not move the way Ty Lee's do, up Azula's neck, into her hair, back down to her back.

In the distance they can hear Aang gathering sticks. Ty Lee pulls away, and the kiss leaves them both breathless. "We should get back to Appa," she pants. "You need to start the fire so it will be large enough to cook on when Aang gets back with dinner."

"I would rather do this," Azula murmurs, reaching for Ty Lee's waist again, but the acrobat takes another step away. "We're all hungry, Azula, and no one can start cooking food until we have a fire."

Azula sighs. "I used to be able to cook an entire possum chicken instantly, you know."

"I do know," Ty Lee chirps, taking the Princess' hand and leading her back toward the campsite. "I remember you doing it during the war. It's a shame we weren't together then. It would have given us so much more time to make out."

"Sometimes I question whether I'll ever be able to do anything like that again," she admits. "But then I remember who I am."

"Good." Ty Lee smiles over at her, and Azula returns a smile that does not quite reach her eyes.

"I got some potatoes for dinner!" Aang calls as they reemerge in the clearing where they are staying for the night.

"Potatoes?" Azula repeats, her eyebrows shooting up, and Ty Lee remembers too late that the Avatar is a vegetarian. "All we've eaten for the past few months are plants. I want something with substance."

Aang shrugs, undeterred by the anger of the woman who, in her youth, conquered an entire nation in a matter of days. "You can go find something else if you want. Sokka used to hunt, and he did pretty well."

"I will do no such thing," Azula proclaims, sinking to the ground to light the pile of sticks. "Hunting is for peasants. And dirty water savages."

Aang's eyes narrow momentarily, but Ty Lee sees him take a deep breath, and when he exhales, his face is neutral again. The acrobat glances over at Azula, seated in front of the fire with her knees drawn to her chin and decides that she needs to wallow in her misery for a while. She approaches Aang where he is using a rock to skin a potato.

"Is Azula always like this?" he asks without looking up as Ty Lee sits down across from him. He does not sound upset. Merely curious and slightly concerned.

"She's not usually this hostile," the acrobat replies. "She, umm… had a hard time on the boat last night. She'll probably be better tomorrow. She still probably doesn't like you that much though, so don't get your hopes up too high."

The Avatar looks older than he did the last time Ty Lee saw him, not long before she and Azula left the Fire Nation. He has the beginnings of a patchy goatee on his chin and growing bags under his eyes. His voice, crackly and wavering when they left, has finished deepening.

"Aang, how long have we been gone," she asks, suddenly aware that she has no idea how long they were at the air temple other than an unqualified number of months.

"Almost a year," he answers. "You left at the beginning of fall. It's midsummer now."

Ty Lee turns her head to gaze back at her girlfriend, still huddled near the fire, despite the temperature. "I missed Azula's birthday," she murmurs. She missed it a long time ago, in fact. Months ago. It must have slipped by while they were at the air temple. "She's eighteen now. She has been since spring."

"I'm glad she's getting another chance," Aang comments. Ty Lee looks back at him, in mild shock.

"What?"

"I'm glad she's getting another chance," he repeats. "At life. Zuko told me they both had kind of a rough time growing up. She's finally learning how to live and… love. I'm glad she gets to be normal."

"Well, we're not exactly normal. We're fugitives," Ty Lee points out, but then she sighs heavily. "I know what you mean. I know what you must have thought about Azula during the war, but her father made her like that. I don't think she ever wanted to be, really."

"I don't think any kid grows up wanting to be a war machine," Aang replies gravely.

"I've known her since I was eight," Ty Lee says. "She wanted to be the best at everything she did, and she wanted Fire Lord Ozai's attention, and those things just got muddled when everyone realized what a great firebender she was."

"What was she like when she was little?" Aang asks, and Ty Lee can hear the curiosity in his voice.

"She was…" She scrunches her face as she thinks back to all the memories she has of Azula as a child and tries to condense them all into a single brief description. "She was competitive. Really competitive. I think she must've just been born that way. And she was like, scary smart, but she was also really confident and kind of mean, so she was too intimidating for me to ask if I could copy her homework. I had to copy Mai's instead. And she followed all the rules, but only if they were made by Fire Lord Ozai. She didn't care what anyone else wanted her to do, and everyone except her parents was too afraid to punish her anyway. She probably knew that."

"If you thought she was mean, why were you friends with her?" Aang asks tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"At first it was just because she was the Princess. It made me feel important." Aang nods as if he understands, but Ty Lee does not think that he does. After all, he has been important his entire life. No one has ever forgotten his name. No one has ever mistaken him for anyone else. "But then my father went through a scandal that made our family the laughing stock of the capital. Azula protected me. She made sure everyone at school knew they couldn't make fun of me unless they wanted to deal with her." She shrugs. "We've been friends ever since. Except for a few years in the middle, after the war."

"Are you happy in your relationship with her?" To Ty Lee's relief, he does not sound skeptical like Mai did. He is asking because he is genuinely interested in her life. There is a reason Ty Lee has liked Aang ever since they first had a conversation.

"Yeah," she answers, allowing her eyes to trail over to Azula once again. "I mean, we have some problems sometimes, but we get through them. I love her, and I think maybe she sort of loves me too, and we make each other happy." She turns back to the Avatar. "You should see her when she's really actually happy. She lights up and it just makes you feel all warm inside. You'd fall in love with her too."

Aang laughs. "Well, I don't know about that, but I'm happy you're happy. And I'm happy she's happy. I get the feeling that hasn't happened very often for her."

"No," Ty Lee agrees, her smile fading. "I think she went seventeen years without even knowing what that felt like."

Aang frowns and shakes his head. "Nobody deserves that." He begins to gather the potatoes and Ty Lee realizes that he has finished skinning them. "Can you take some of these over to the fire?" he asks, and she springs to her feet to help.

She drops them beside Azula as Aang goes to find them three sticks to use for roasting. She presses a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek and receives a fleeting smile in return. "What are you thinking about?" she whispers, because Azula seems a little too upset for this to still be about the potatoes.

Azula shakes her head. "Nothing. Everything is fine." Ty Lee frowns, but then Aang returns, so she does not press for details.

* * *

Appa lands about two miles outside of Republic City the following evening after a full day of flying and Azula complaining about how bored she was and how cold it was in the sky.

_"I used to be able to warm myself with just my bending," she told Ty Lee as they sat in Appa's saddle. Ty Lee had offered to snuggle up to her so they could share body heat not long before, but Azula had vehemently shaken her head and continued to shiver, intent on being miserable._

"Your brother wanted me to give you this," Aang says, holding out a small leather pouch to Azula but giving it to Ty Lee when the Princess merely raised her eyebrows at it. Ty Lee opens it up and peers inside.

"Ooh, it's money, Azula!" she cries.

"It's not a lot," Aang adds, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "You can't have more than a certain amount of valuables if you want to be let into a refugee shelter, and the clothes you guys took from the airship are worth something."

"Finally my brother realizes we can't all survive on _hope_ and _good deeds_ ," Azula mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Try to keep your head down," Aang advises them. "Earth King Kuei comes to Republic City sometimes. Stay away from City Hall if you can."

"You can rest assured that we'll keep as much to the Fire Nation part of the city as possible," Azula replies.

"We'll be fine," Ty Lee assures him. "We were in Ba Sing Se for months before anyone got suspicious, and then we escaped from right under the Dai Li's noses."

"I keep meaning to ask how long you guys were in Ba Sing Se," Aang comments. "No one really knows when you left."

"It was the beginning of spring," Ty Lee answers. "We've been at the Eastern Air Temple ever since."

"Oh, I was at the Eastern Air Temple once—" Aang begins, but Azula cuts him off.

"If we want to be in Republic City by nightfall, we need to leave now," she tells Ty Lee pointedly.

"Oh, okay," the acrobat replies. "Bye Aang. Thanks for the ride."

"No problem!" the Avatar calls, waving after them. "And don't worry. Kuei will come around. I'm sure you won't have to be here for long."

"That's what they said about Ba Sing Se," Azula mutters. Ty Lee gives her a sharp jab in the ribs, but she secretly agrees. When they first left the palace, going into hiding seemed like a short-term fix. Now that it has been nearly a year, Ty Lee is beginning to wonder if it is not permanent. Zuko will stop at nothing to bring his sister home. Of that, Ty Lee is certain, but there are only so many things he can try. There is only so long he can stay focused on them. He is already spread very thin. Ty Lee could tell as soon as she saw him before Suki's wedding.

They trot along the path side by side in silence until Ty Lee speaks. "Are you alright, Azula? You haven't seemed okay since we left Kyoshi Island."

"I told you, I'm fine," Azula snaps, though Ty Lee can see, and knows that Azula knows she can see, that it is not true. The Princess sighs and presses the palms of her hands into her eyes. Ty Lee is momentarily concerned that she will trip on one of the numberous branches or stones that are strewn across the path, but of course she does not. "I think I missed Zuko," she finally admits.

Ty Lee begins to laugh but abruptly cuts herself off when she sees the look on Azula's face. "Is that all? Of course you missed him. He's your brother. And he was the best friend you had for three whole years."

"I don't need him," Azula says. "I was willing to kill him by the end of the war."

"But, Azula, you… weren't yourself by then," Ty Lee points out.

"I wanted to kill him," Azula insists, dropping her eyes to the path.

"Because you wanted to be Fire Lord?" Ty Lee asks hesitantly. Now that she thinks about it, she cannot remember Azula actually talking about the throne. She had always just assumed it was at the root of the siblings' animosity for each other. That and the fact that their father only had enough attention for one of them at a time.

"No," Azula shakes her head. "He was already a traitor by that time. There was no way he was taking the throne unless the Avatar won the war." A mirthless laugh. "No, I wanted power but I wouldn't have killed him for it. He would have made me his High General anyway. I would have controlled the military. That was all I cared about. Who wants to deal with land disputes between peasants and the day-to-day running of the National Granary? Let Zuzu handle those things. Besides," she hesitates. "We were friends once, before I started bending. Once our father was out of the picture, we could have been friends again, even if I hadn't gone crazy."

"That's so sweet, Azula," Ty Lee murmurs, hating how surprised she sounds anytime her girlfriend says anything even marginally sentimental.

"He's the only other person in the world who knows what it was like to be Fire Lord Ozai's child," Azula continues. "We experienced it differently, but even when he was on the other side of the world and we hadn't spoken in years, knowing he was out there made me feel less alone." She shakes her head. "I wouldn't have sacrificed that for a throne."

"So why did you want to kill him at the end of the war then?" Ty Lee asks, even though she thinks maybe she should not. Azula is being surprisingly forthcoming, and Ty Lee wants to get to the root of whatever if bothering her.

"Because he took everything," the Princess murmurs. "He left me alone _again_ , and he took you and Mai with him. It was just me and our father," Ty Lee winces, "and I was punished for his betrayal because I was the one who brought him back. And then I was punished for yours and Mai's when the two of you decided it was more important to protect him than to protect me."

"Oh, Azula, I'm sorry," Ty Lee whispers. She wants to clutch her girlfriend's arm, but she thinks she might be shrugged off if she tries to. "We didn't know."

"Mai knew," Azula comments, her voice tense but void of anger. "I know she did."

"It was just that Zuko was going to die if she didn't do something," Ty Lee rushes to explain. "And I had to stop you from killing Mai."

"Well everyone is still alive, so I suppose you made the right decision," Azula replies. "I told you before, I'm not angry about it anymore. Not at you, at least."

"At Mai?" Ty Lee asks quietly, and Azula shakes her head. "At Zuko?"

"At myself," the Princess answers with a note of finality that tells Ty Lee the conversation is over.


	23. Fate Is Humbling

Walking into Republic City is nothing like walking into Ba Sing Se. There are no guards stationed at the city line and they are not searched. The trees simply become houses and the buildings grow gradually taller until they reach into the sky.

"The buildings in Ba Sing Se weren't even this huge," Ty Lee murmurs, though it is unsurprising, because Ba Sing Se is a very old city and Republic City is new. Even the tiny apartments in the lower ring were not stacked more than four or five high.

"The only building taller than this in the Fire Nation is the palace," Azula agrees.

"And this city is so huge. How many people do you think live here? Where did they all come from?" Ty Lee continues to gape. She tugs on the Princess' sleeve. "Won't it be so fun to explore, Azula?"

Azula smiles despite herself. The fact that she is infinitely happier about being in Republic City than she was about being in Ba Sing Se aside, it is more difficult to be angry about being somewhere she does not want to be when she at least has Ty Lee. Even if their relationship is… complicated sometimes.

"Where is this," she wrinkles her nose, " _refugee house?_ " She does not like the sound of the place. There has never been a need for anything like that in the Fire Nation, at least not during her lifetime, but she knows they existed in the Earth Kingdom during the war, tucked into mountains or dense forests in areas the Fire Nation had not bothered to occupy.

"Oh, umm…" Ty Lee contorts her face in thought, and Azula groans inwardly. This does not seem promising. "Well, I don't know _exactly_. Zuko said Aang would tell me, but he, umm… didn't. And I forgot to ask."

"Leave it to the Avatar to screw us over," Azula mutters, and Ty Lee hushes her.

"Don't talk about the you-know-who," she whispers conspiratorially. "We have to be undercover again. Are you ready to be Sima?"

"I want something more Fire Nation than that," Azula answers. If she cannot be called by her own name, she would at least like to go by something that does not sound so foreign.

"Okay." Ty Lee taps her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "How about Moyazu? We went to school with a girl named Moyazu. Remember her? She always wore the prettiest ribbons in her hair."

"And her father was the least competent commander I have ever had the displeasure of meeting," Azula replies. "I will not name myself anything that he deemed fit to call a child."

"Okay then," Ty Lee answers. "How about… Ihai. That was the name of my nanny's daughter. She was so cute! I wonder what she's doing now. She was only four the last time I saw her—"

"And I will not name myself after a peasant," Azula interrupts.

"Ugh," Ty Lee sighs. "You can't be so picky. It's not like it's going to be your name _forever_." All though neither of them know that for sure. "What about Sokuzi? Wasn't that the name of that girl Lu Ten was going to marry before he left for the war? She was so pretty. I liked her. What do you think happened to her, Azu—something."

"Her name was Sukozi, and she was sent back to Fire Fountain City to stay with her family," Azula recalls. "Eventually she married someone else. The older brother of that idiot, Ruon-Jian, I believe." Ty Lee looks over at her in curiosity and she shrugs. "My uncle used to keep tabs on her. She has a child now, I think." A sigh. "Okay, I'll be Sukozi. But only so you'll stop pestering me about it."

"I think Sukozi is perfect," Ty Lee assures her. "It fits you just right."

Azula rolls her eyes. "How exactly do you propose we find this refugee house if you have no idea where it is?" she demands, glancing up at the sky. It is already dark, and she has a feeling it will not be in the most desirable area of town. She and Ty Lee are more than capable of defending themselves, of course, but that just sounds so tedious right now, and she is tired.

"I'll just ask somebody," Ty Lee answers, as if that should have been obvious. Azula is a Princess. She has never done something as degrading as _asking for directions_ before. Especially from some peasant.

_"When you're royalty, you automatically know everything," Azula told Ty Lee once when they were children. "Anyone who disagrees is wrong."_

"Excuse me, sir!" Ty Lee is already calling brightly to a stranger in a bowler hat wearing circular-rimmed glasses. "Can you tell us where the refugee shelter is?"

He takes a long look at Ty Lee, clutching their bag of clothing in one hand and Azula's sleeve in the other, and then his gaze shifts to the Princess. He studies her closely, and while Azula feels mildly alarmed, she sees no recognition in his eyes.

"Not a lot of refugees from the Fire Nation," he comments, and suddenly, Azula understands. Once again, it hits her that while Ty Lee is passable in the Earth Kingdom, she is not. It does not fill her with quite the same satisfaction that it did when they first arrived in Ba Sing Se. Now she is aware that it only makes their lives more difficult.

"We're from the colonies," she lies quickly, stepping forward. Ty Lee glances at her in surprise. "My father's family was from the Fire Nation."

"But the United Republic is rebuilding those cities," the man answers. "You could have just stayed and waited for your home to be rebuilt."

"Look, the people in our city didn't exactly appreciate being occupied by the Fire Nation for almost a hundred years," she argues, feeling anger rise up her throat, despite the fact that nothing she is saying is true. "They didn't want me there anymore, so we came here. Is that alright with you?"

"The other villagers killed her parents," Ty Lee adds, laying it on a little thick in Azula's opinion but making doe eyes that give the man no choice but to believe her. "We just barely made it out."

"Three blocks down and to the left," the man tells them before rushing off so quickly he has to hold his hat in place.

Ty Lee smirks at her. "Looks like we're partners in crime again."

Azula smiles approvingly back, sliding her arm around Ty Lee's waist as if she is claiming her. "You were good. Maybe a little overzealous, but good."

"We just got out of a war, Az—Sukozi," Ty Lee reminds her. "People die all the time."

"I know," Azula snaps. "I was almost one of them." As if she needs a lecture on wars. She did win one, after all.

"I'm glad you weren't." Ty Lee presses a kiss to her cheek and Azula rolls her eyes. _Obviously_. Still it is nice to be told that she is wanted. After years of feeling like she was only of value to anyone if she was killing something, a simple _I'm glad you're not dead_ makes her feel like a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

* * *

The refugee shelter looks like a school from the outside. It is taller than any of the schools Ty Lee has ever seen, but everything in Republic City is taller than anything she has ever seen. It is made of red brick, and when they go inside, a rickety desk is set up in what should have been the lobby.

The desk is staffed by two women, a matronly-looking one who reminds Ty Lee forcefully, and with a pang of regret, of Tokka, and a younger, more frazzled one. The frazzled woman is the one who glances up when they enter. The older woman simply gazes serenely across the desk at them with an expression like she would very much like to sit them down at a table and feed them cinnamon cakes.

"Step up to the desk," the younger woman calls impatiently. "What are your names?" Ty Lee can see Azula's fists clenching at her sides. She has not had a lot of human interaction since they left the Fire Nation, and she is still not used to the lack of respect with which they are often treated. The acrobat runs a hand over one of her girlfriend's to calm her.

"I'm Ty Lee," she answers. "This is Sukozi. We came here from, umm… Shangu."

"Shangu is rebuilding," the woman comments, raising her eyebrows but not looking up.

"Oh, we know," Ty Lee explains, relieved that she had a chance to rehearse her story for the man in the bowler hat. "We sort of got chased out because of Sukozi's Fire Nation heritage. Her father… well, he wasn't very well liked. _She's_ fine though." She beams over at Azula fondly.

The woman's eyes drift down to the bag in Ty Lee's hand. "How much are your possessions worth?" she asks.

"Not a lot," Ty Lee shrugs, holding the bag open and looking into it. "The clothes are kind of expensive, but we don't have a lot of money, other than that."

The woman leans over the table and peers into the bag. "Fine," she replies dismissively. "We have two cots available on the fifth floor. Any idea how long you'll be staying here?"

"Just until I can find a job," Ty Lee assures the woman. "It's not long term."

"Good," the woman answers. She holds out two slips of thick paper to Ty Lee. "You'll be in cots seventeen and eighteen in Room 56 on the fifth floor. Don't lose those. If there's a dispute, they'll prove which cots are yours. Keep an eye on them. They get stolen sometimes."

"Sure…" Ty Lee answers hesitantly. "Thank you!"

"Cots?" Azula mutters to her as they start up the stairs.

"Well, it's a refugee house, Sukozi. What did you expect?" Ty Lee replies. "Besides, in Ba Sing Se we slept on the floor. I think you can handle it."

Room 56 turns out to be a large, rectangular room lined with windows along one wall that reminds Ty Lee of the classrooms back at the Royal Fire Academy. Cots are arranged in straight lines from wall to wall like desks would be, and nearly all of them are occupied. Seventeen and eighteen are in the row along the wall with the windows.

"This isn't too bad," Ty Lee comments as she drops the bag at the foot of Azula's cot. "We even have window seats."

Azula sinks despondently onto the cot as Ty Lee busies herself dragging her own over so that it is touching the Princess'. "See, now it's just like it was back at the air temple." Azula does not look convinced and Ty Lee shakes her head in defeat. "Just go to bed, okay? I'm sure things will be better tomorrow. I'll find a job, and we'll be able to move out of here in no time. You'll see."

They climb under their blankets, but the room is noisy and the lamps are still lit. Ty Lee does not think either of them will be able to sleep for a while. She shifts toward Azula and covers her hand with her own, offering a weak smile that her girlfriend does not return. "We finally made it to Republic City," she whispers.

Azula sighs. "This isn't how I imagined it."

"Remember how much you hated the air temple at first?" Ty Lee reminds her. "Look how great that ended up being."

"It wasn't great," Azula snorts. "It was just the best place we've lived so far."

"And this will be even better," Ty Lee replies, taking pride in the fact that she sounds much surer than she feels. She scoots closer to the Princess, and for a moment, she can feel the spot where their cots come together under her body and Azula's breath against her face. And then her cot gives way.

"Waaaaa—" she cries as she tumbles to the ground, grasping at Azula to break her fall and nearly bringing the other girl down on top of her.

Azula snickers as the acrobat stands her cot back up, and Ty Lee might feel a little betrayed if she was not so pleased to see her girlfriend laughing. She sighs dramatically, throwing herself back onto her cot. "I can't even get close enough to you. This is the worst."

"I thought it _wasn't so bad_ ," Azula smirks. Ty Lee can see her roll her eyes in the darkness, and then, after a moment of hesitation, she holds open her blanket. "If it's really upsetting you that much…"

"Thank you, Sukozi!" Ty Lee squeals, rolling off of her own cot and climbing into Azula's. They are pressed together and balanced atop the cot precariously, and even Ty Lee has to admit that it is probably not the best idea either of them have ever had, but as her head settles in against Azula's neck and she slips an arm around her waist, she does not think it is the worst idea either.

"It's not as if I had a choice," Azula mutters. "I would have never gotten any sleep with you over there sighing every three minutes. It is possible to feel sorry for yourself quietly, you know."

"After the firebender's finished heating it, you just pick it up with these tongs and use that mallet to pound it into shape."

It is Ty Lee's first day of work in a factory where they make iron wheels. She wanted another waitress job, but refugees are piling into Republic City, all seeking work, and she has to take what she can get. Even if she is far too good looking to not be working in customer service.

"Then you drop it into this stream. The water cools the metal and the waterbenders keep the current moving. It takes all the pieces to the next station," the woman tells her. Her name is Laoba, and she supervises the floor that Ty Lee works on. She is small but muscular, has thick grey hair, and is clearly of Earth Nation decent.

"Why don't metalbenders form the metal?" Ty Lee asks, furrowing her brow. It seems much more efficient than heating it up so that non-benders can do it.

Laoba laughs and Ty Lee gets the distinct sense that that is about the most ridiculous thing Laoba has ever heard. "There are barely enough metalbenders to run the police force," she answers. "We can't be putting them to work in factories. But there's no shortage of firebenders. There's no shortage of non-benders. Besides, they're more specialized. We'd have to pay them twice as much as we're paying you." She chuckles to herself. "You think metalbenders grow on trees, girl? Anyway, this'll be your station. Say hello to Yujin and Hotara. You three will be spending a lot of time together. Make friends. My job is much easier when I don't have to scrape somebody's insides off the floor."

Yujin and Hotara both look close to Ty Lee's age. Yujin, the firebender, is tall and lean with sleek black hair that reminds Ty Lee of how most of the nobles back in the Caldera looked. She imagines Yujin must have come from money, and she wonders what she is doing here.

Hotara, on the other hand, is a waterbender. Ty Lee has encountered very few waterbenders in her life. Only Katara and Aang really, and Aang hardly counts. Hotara is smaller than Katara was, and stockier, and she smiles a lot less. Even in Republic City, Ty Lee has seen fewer Water Tribe citizens than anything else. Fewer of them were displaced because the Northern Water Tribe was never successfully invaded, and the Southern Water Tribe was almost completely wiped out years ago. Hotara is a mystery just as much as Yujin is, but Ty Lee supposes that she is a mystery too, so she resolves not to ask any questions until they do. She simply pounds the red hot strips of metal into a circle around an old pipe and minds her own business.

"The last person who did your job was a big muscular guy," Yujin tells Ty Lee when they go on break for lunch. "I'm impressed. You weren't even that much slower."

"You're Fire Nation right?" Hotara demands. "Were you a soldier?" The hostility in her voice is unnerving.

"No," Ty Lee answers. "I'm from the colonies. I was too young for the military anyway." It is not a lie.

"Then where did you get so strong?" Hotara prods, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"My father was a blacksmith," Ty Lee lies, thankful that the first thing that came to her mind actually sounds reasonable. "I was apprenticing under him before I left my village."

"Why did you leave?" Yujin asks in interest. "You didn't like it?"

"It wasn't that?" She heaves a convincing sigh. "I fled with my girlfriend. Her father was a really unpopular Fire Nation colonist. After the war ended, he was supposed to step down so the Fire Nation citizens and the Earth Kingdom citizens could finally find unity, but he didn't want to. The villagers killed him and his wife, even though she was Earth Nation, and they would have killed her too, but she managed to sneak out of the house and get past them."

"So why did you leave?" Hotara asks. "If things were fine for you."

"Because I love her," Ty Lee replies with the conviction of a true statement. "She asked me to run away with her, and I wasn't going to say no. I would never have seen her again. Besides, she's… not well. I don't know if she would have made it here. She was… injured recently, and she can't bend as well as she used to. Plus she doesn't really get along with a lot of people. I don't think she would have been able to hold down a job."

"She seems like quite a catch," Yujin remarks, raising an eyebrow.

"She's not perfect. We've had our problems," Ty Lee admits. "But I would die for her, and no one will ever understand how much she's done for me. We love each other. That's what's important."

"So where is she now?" Hotara asks.

"Back at the refugee house," Ty Lee answers. "She doesn't really like to go out. I think she's a little depressed. But she's getting better though. She's so much better than she was."

"Well, yeah, if my parents were killed and I had to flee my village, I'd be depressed to," Hotara comments. "Oh wait."

Yujin places a calming hand on her shoulder, but then turns back to Ty Lee. "You sound really proud of her."

"I am," Ty Lee answers, looking past her at Hotara. "I mean, she isn't… like she used to be. You should've seen her. I think the sun would've taken orders from her. But it's amazing how far she's come."

"How long have you two been together?" Yujin asks pleasantly, though Hotara is still glaring straight ahead on her other side.

"Oh, well, we haven't even been a couple for half a year yet," Ty Lee replies. "But she's been my best friend since I was eight."

"Have you been in love with her the whole time?" Yujin asks, clasping her hands together and looking like she is hanging on the answer.

"Well, not the _whole_ time. I had a crush on her when I was fourteen, but then there were a couple years after that where we had… I guess it was like a fight. A really big fight. But we weren't friends anymore for a while. That was when she started getting sick." Ty Lee shakes her head. "But I don't want to think about that. What about you guys? How did you both end up in Republic City?"

"I came here from Fire Fountain City," Yujin answers, confirming Ty Lee's suspicions. "My father was pretty high up in the government there. Not high enough that we ever met the Royal Family or anything," the acrobat feels a wave of relief wash over her, "But a lot of the Fire Fountain City state balls were held at our mansion." Over Yujin's shoulder, Ty Lee can see Hotara roll her eyes. "Anyway, he was a big supporter of Fire Lord Ozai, and he made a lot of money off the war. When it ended we tried to stay there, but it was just too hard. All of the new government officials knew that our family had supported Ozai, and we lost most of our fortune in pillagings. Once Republic City was established, my mother and my sister and I moved here."

"What about your father?" Ty Lee asks.

Yujin drops her eyes. "He died right after the comet," she replies.

"Oh…"

"My mother was taken by the Fire Nation when they found out she was a waterbender," Hotara begins. Ty Lee is beginning to wish she had not asked. "We never saw her again. I'm sure she's probably dead. When I started bending, my father took us away from the South Pole. We settled in an Earth Nation village and I was instructed to never bend, even if I was drowning. My father told me it was better to be dead than to go where they took my mother." She pauses, and Ty Lee finds herself unable to look the other girl in the eye. "A few years later, when things started looking really bad for the Earth Nation, he left us with a neighbor and went to war. He never came back. When the Avatar defeated the Fire Lord, the Fire Nation soldiers who were stationed in our village burned it down as they left. I heard that Republic City was the place to go for refugees, so I brought my brother and sister here."

"You see?" Yujin asks. "No one here has a happy story, but we get through it. I'm not my father, and I'm sure your girlfriend's not her father either."

"I know that," Ty Lee answers. "But sometimes I think she doesn't."

* * *

Life in the refugee shelter gets old fast. Ty Lee goes to work in the morning and arrives home in time for dinner, which usually consists of a slice of bread and a bowl of soup that is mostly broth. She cannot complain, because the shelter feeds them for free, but she cannot remember not feeling hungry since she arrived. Azula has nowhere to practice her bending, and Ty Lee can see her newly developed muscle already beginning to waste away.

_"Maybe you could go practice in the park while I'm at work," she had suggested._

_"And watch everyone laugh at me because I can't produce a flame larger than my fist?" Azula had scoffed. "I don't think so."_

They sleep with the lights on and people talking and children crying in the same room every night. Sleeping alone is strange. Ty Lee did not like it during those weeks at the air temple when Azula was first regaining her bending, and she does not like it now, but Azula informed her the morning after their first night in the refugee house that she did not think it was wise for them to share the off-balance cot again, and, despite her disappointment, Ty Lee agrees.

"You shouldn't be making friends," Azula says sternly when Ty Lee tells her about work. "If they find out who we are, they could exploit us."

"Relax, Sukozi," Ty Lee replies. "I told them the same story we told that man our first day here. The villagers attacked your family and we had to flee. Besides, why would they tell the Earth King? Yujin is from the Fire Nation."

"Your Water Tribe friend would turn me in," Azula points out. It bothers Ty Lee that she is not sure she can disagree, but she supposes she cannot blame Hotara. All of their lives have been turned upside down by the war, but Hotara is the only one of them who has the Fire Nation to blame, and there is no truer symbol of the wartime Fire Nation than Princess Azula. The Earth King's demand is evidence enough of that.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way," Ty Lee begins, her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap. "But it's been a really long time since I've had friends to talk to who were my own age and weren't you. It's kind of nice."

"You did always like to have lots of attention," Azula agrees, and Ty Lee is not sure whether or not she should feel offended, but when she looks back up, Azula looks dejected, and she thinks maybe it was not an insult, but a realization.

"It's not that you're not enough for me," she adds, covering Azula's hand with her own. "I just need some… variety in my life." And it has been nice being able to talk to someone else about her relationship for once.

"I know that," Azula answers sharply, slipping her hand away and standing up. "I'm not some needy child."

Ty Lee drops her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"I'm only concerned about our security," Azula comments. Her back is turned, so Ty Lee cannot tell whether or not she is lying.

"When we have our own apartment, I'll invite them over," the acrobat suggests. "You can meet them."

"That's a terrible idea, Ty Lee," Azula replies without turning around. "Honestly, I can't believe you would even suggest bringing strangers into our home."

"They're not strangers. They're friends," Ty Lee argues. "Okay, listen, I think it's time we start acknowledging the fact that… we might never go back home." She can see Azula's shoulders slacken, but the Princess still does not move. "I can't live like this forever. If we're going to live the rest of our lives as fugitives, I at least want to live."

"I want to live too, which I why my answer is still no," Azula comments. "Would you really prioritize having lots of friends above my life?"

"I think you're forgetting that it's my life on the line too. I would be killed if they found you with me." Ty Lee pushes herself off the cot and joins Azula where she is standing in front of the window. She lays a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. The other girl tenses but, to Ty Lee's relief, does not pull away. "I've already sacrificed too much to keep you alive to let you die. I just want to feel like a normal person again."

A bitter laugh escapes the Princess' lips. "We've never been _normal_ people."

"But doesn't it sound fun to try?"

Azula heaves a sigh. "Not really," she mutters. "But why do I feel like that won't stop you?"

"Because we know each other so well?" Ty Lee suggests, laying a hesitant kiss on her girlfriend's cheek. "I promise," she adds. "It'll be fun."

Azula merely rolls her eyes.

* * *

"Surprise!" Ty Lee cries, flinging the door open in front of her.

They are on the fourth floor of a tall, grey building, standing in the doorway of a room, empty except for a wood-burning stove. It is their new apartment, and Ty Lee couldn't be more thrilled.

"Isn't it great?" she asks, hopping excitedly from foot to foot. She looks adorable when she does that, and it makes it very difficult to seem unimpressed, but Azula will never tell her that. "See? We can cook our own meals. I know how to make some things now, since I worked in a tavern and everything. And there's the washroom through there," she points to one of two doors along the back wall, "And come look in this room." She waits in front of the other door for Azula to cross the floor and join her.

"Ta da!" She throws the door open. "Look! A bed!"

The single piece of furniture in the entire apartment is a rickety bedframe, low to the ground, holding a tattered old mattress that occupies nearly the entire tiny bedroom. It is hardly a bed, in Azula's opinion, but she decides not to say anything about it. Ty Lee just looks too pleased with herself. Besides, it is better than the bedrolls they slept on in Ba Sing Se, or the cots they have been sleeping on for the past month. At least it looks like it was designed for two people to sleep in. Two very thin people.

"Welcome home, Azula," Ty Lee whispers in her ear. Azula bites back a remark about how this is not her home as she swings an arm around the acrobat's waist and pins her against the doorframe to kiss her.

"The windows have glass in them and everything," Ty Lee breathes as Azula's lips make themselves at home beneath her earlobe.

"Mmhm," she hums, and her girlfriend shivers with the heat of her breath.

"Umm, also we can get water for the washroom right behind the building," the other girl adds.

"Good," Azula murmurs as her hands creep up the back of Ty Lee's shirt to slide over the soft, smooth skin of her back, to slip around her sides.

"Azula," Ty Lee gasps when fingertips graze the swells of her breasts. "What are you doing?"

"How many things could I possibly be doing right now?" the Princess asks into the hair behind her ear.

"Azula, I don't…" A sudden intake of breath as Azula's thumbs tease closer and closer to her nipples. "I don't want to start something we can't finish."

Azula withdraws immediately, her mouth already contorted into a deep frown. "Oh," she replies. "I didn't realize this was an all or nothing arrangement."

"It's not." Ty Lee takes a step forward and captures her girlfriend's hands in her own, her grip like steel when Azula tries to pull away. The girl is irritatingly strong. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty or anything—"

"I don't feel guilty," Azula interrupts, but Ty Lee continues without acknowledging it.

"It's just that last time it made us fight, and tonight is supposed to be happy," the acrobat rushes to explain. "If you want to try, we can try, but if you know you're still not ready…" She hesitates and drops her eyes. "Can we just, I don't know, enjoy each other's company? We can make out for as long as you want to tomorrow. I just don't want our first night here to end up being a fight."

"Fine," Azula mutters, finally succeeding in pulling her hands away.

"I love you," Ty Lee calls after her.

"Well, that doesn't do me much good, does it?" she snaps, crossing her arms. It is not that she has once again been reminded of all the things she _can't_ do. Those reminders are constant nowadays. It is that this was the first time she had ever touched Ty Lee like that, under her clothing, and she was rejected. Ty Lee's hands have been all over her for months. Does Ty Lee think _she_ is not frustrated? Does she think this is easy for _her?_

"Please don't be angry at me," the acrobat is whispering. She sounds utterly pathetic.

"This is just as hard for me as it is for you, you know," Azula informs her. "I'm not doing it to be difficult."

"I know that!" Ty Lee cries. "Of course I know that!"

"That's what you claim," Azula answers coolly. "But you won't let me touch you the way you touch me."

The acrobats eyes widen in realization, and then, before Azula knows what is happening, she is pulling off her shirt. "Touch me," she demands, planting her hands on her hips as the material flutters to the ground. "Go ahead."

"Not like this." Azula shakes her head.

"I want you to," Ty Lee pleads, seizing Azula's hand and dragging it to her chest. "I was just being… I don't know, lazy or something."

"Stupid?" Azula volunteers, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, and stupid." The acrobat nods.

Azula rolls her eyes, but she allows herself to be drawn into a kiss, her hand still pressed firmly to Ty Lee's breast. "I love the apartment," she mutters when their lips break free of each other.

Ty Lee giggles. "After those cots, you would have loved anything," she points out. "It made my job a lot easier."

"Well, know that it _won't_ be this easy next time," Azula warns, bending down to rummage in the bag of clothing for the robe she took from her brother's airship. "In our next apartment, I demand a window seat and a bathtub and a skylight so I can feel the sunlight on my skin when I do my morning forms."

"Noted," Ty Lee promises. "But I don't know how many apartments we'll be able to find with skylights. We'd have to be on the top floor."

"I guess you've got your work cut out for you then," the Princess comments, tossing Ty Lee's robe at her and retreating into the bedroom to change. "Because I refuse to move anywhere that doesn't meet my requirements exactly."

"Then you better get used to living here forever," Ty Lee calls from the other room, and Azula can hear the smile in her voice.

Joking about it makes it seem less real.


End file.
